CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Planning

Andy Burnham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2005, Official Report, columns 793–94W, on planning, what the (a) location and (b) name of each of the contested planning developments is; how much was spent on mounting and defending the challenge in each case; what the final outcome of each case was; and what the effect on the timescale of each project was.

David Lammy: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) were only able to identify six cases in the answer of 22 March 2005, Official Report, columns 793–94W. This does not include possible judicial reviews because the LSC does not record figures for judicial review by way of type of application.
	Different Departments record their information in different ways, therefore the Government have been unable to match the records for all of these six cases without incurring disproportionate costs. However, the following information has been obtained from the LSC, the Planning Inspectorate and the Treasury Solicitors:
	
		
			  Location Contested development Legal aid costs (£) Defence costs (£) Outcome of case 
		
		
			 2001–02 Stroud, Gloucestershire Shutway Quarry 4,745.11 Unable to link costs of case This information is not currently available 
			 2001–02 Hounslow, Middlesex Private dwelling—extension 2,751.01 4,429.60 plus VAT. Plus 10,500 in costs to claimant Appeal refused 
			 2002–03 Wexham, Slough Greenbelt land The defence met the full costs Unable to link costs of case Appeal allowed 
			 2003–04 Otterton, Devon The location of a mobile phone mast 3,152.12 (legal aid only covered preparation costs to trial) 3,360. (Unsuccessful claimant ordered to pay costs) Appeal refused 
			 2003–04 Middlewich Cheshire The disposal of hazardous waste in rock salt mines Costs are yet to be finalised Costs are yet to be finalised Appeal refused 
			 2004–05 Exeter Private dwelling—extension Costs are yet to be determined Unable to link costs of case Outcome is currently unknown 
		
	
	It is not possible to predict what the effects on the time scale of each project was. However, I can give the following dates from the cases that we have been able to cross-reference:
	Hounslow, Middlesex: The original planning decision was made on 23 January 2001 and the redetermination decision was issued on 16 December 2004.
	Otterton, Devon: The decision allowing the appeal was issued on 14 August 2003 and was upheld by the court on 1 March 2004.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to increase the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice to 1.2 million by 2005–06 will be met;
	(2)  what recent progress has been made towards the public service agreement target to reduce the proportion of ineffective trials.

David Lammy: Progress against these targets is set out in the Department for Constitutional Affairs' autumn performance report (Cm 6391) which was presented to Parliament in December 2004.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to increase the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice to 1.25 million by 2007–08 will be met.

David Lammy: Plans to deliver this public service agreement target, which was announced as part of the 2004 spending review and came into effect on 1 April 2005, are currently being developed. Progress will be covered in the departmental report 2005 and the autumn performance report 2005 both of which will be laid before Parliament later this year.

Training Budget

John Mann: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs, what the total education and training budget of the Department is for 2005–06.

David Lammy: Substantive answer from David Lammy to John Mann:
	PQ 05/476—DCA Education & Training Budget
	You tabled a Parliamentary question, ref 218036, to my Department last session. You asked what the total education and training budget of the Department is for 2005–6.
	For DCA staff training the total allocation is £4.4m.
	The major business customers for training (e.g. the new Her Majesty's Courts Service) are in the process of agreeing their Business Plans that inform their staff education and training needs. Therefore not all of this expenditure can be precisely broken down at present. The areas that can be are:
	£650,000—Leadership and Management programmes—developing the DCA's senior managers leadership skills;
	£600,000—Professional Skills for Government—cross-governmental qualifications in Corporate/Specialist, Policy and Operational skills;
	£400,000—IT and Business skills—supporting operational staff by maximising their use of IT and their knowledge of the DCA's business to deliver effective services to the public;
	£300,000—Continuing Professional Development for Lawyers;
	£300,000—Diversity Awareness—ensuring the staff in the Department understand the diverse needs of the society they serve—their customers and their colleagues;
	£100,00—First Aid training—ensuring legal obligations are fulfilled for qualified first-aiders to provide support and possibly life-saving assistance to colleagues and the DCA's customers.
	As an Investor In People (IiP) employer the DCA provides active support to the continuing education and development of all staff. At the March 2004 IiP assessment, the DCA was praised on its approach to leadership and diversity—recognised as important cornerstones for delivering high quality services.
	I have placed a copy of this letter in the libraries of both Houses.

PRIME MINISTER

Iraq War

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2005, Official Report, column 301W, on Iraq, whether it was on his instructions that the Attorney-General went to Washington in relation to the legal situation relating to war against Iraq on 21 and 22 July 2003 to have talks with the US Defense Department General Counsel and the Australian Justice Minister.

Tony Blair: The Attorney-General's visit to Washington in July 2003 did not relate to the military action in Iraq. As the Attorney-General made clear in a statement issued on 22 July 2003, he had discussions with senior representatives of the US Administration about the British detainees in Guantanamo Bay with a view to ensuring that the detainees, if prosecuted, were guaranteed fair trials in accordance with international standards and to make clear the Government's opposition to the death penalty.

Iraq War

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister when he was first informed that Professor Christopher Greenwood QC had been retained by the Government to assist in relation to legal issues arising from the Iraq conflict.

Tony Blair: Counsel are routinely retained by the Government on the advice of the lead Department(s).

Iraq War

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Solicitor-General 
	(1)  on how many occasions Professor Christopher Greenwood was paid by the Attorney-General's office for legal opinions on the legality of military action against Iraq; and how much was paid in each case;
	(2)  what guidance Professor Christopher Greenwood was given about appearances in the print and broadcasting media in relation to opinions about the legality of the Iraq war which he provided to the Prime Minister.

Harriet Harman: As I said in my reply to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) of 8 March 2005, Official Report, column 1639W, and the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr. Thomas) of 4 April 2005, Official Report, column 1224W, Professor Christopher Greenwood QC was not instructed to advise on whether the war in Iraq would be lawful.

Published Article

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Prime Minister whether the article to which he referred in his reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, South of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column 636, was that of Professor Christopher Greenwood, QC, published in The Times, on 22 October 2003.

Tony Blair: Yes.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Environmental Crime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to her answer of 8 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1638–39W, on environmental crime, for what reasons the Crown Prosecution Service does not generally prosecute in cases of environmental crime.

Harriet Harman: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not generally prosecute in cases of environmental crime because, within England and Wales, the Environment Agency and local authorities generally do so instead.
	The Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 requires the CPS to take on the prosecution of criminal proceedings instituted by a police force. Police forces do not generally investigate allegations of environmental crime, as successive governments have given powers to agencies other than the police and CPS to enforce environmental legislation.

TREASURY

Child Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of the family element of the child tax credit would have been in 2005–06 if it had been uprated (a) with earnings, (b) with prices and (c) at the same rate as the child element since the introduction of the child tax credit.

John Healey: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The value of the family element in 2005–06, had it been uprated as described in the question since its introduction in 2003–04, would be as follows:
	(a) £590
	(b) £585
	(c) £640.

Correspondence

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will provide a response to the hon. Member for Bassetlaw regarding the tax credits of Graeme Edward Aitkins of Sunnyside, Worksop.

John Healey: There is no record of any correspondence received from the hon. Member about his constituent. The Inland Revenue wrote directly to the hon. Member's constituent on 30 March 2005.

Lyons Review

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the areas in Scotland which he expects to gain public sector jobs under the Lyons review, as indicated in his Budget statement.

Paul Boateng: Of the workforce relocations referred to by the Chancellor in Budget 2005, 90 jobs are going to East Kilbride and 120 to Glasgow and Dundee. It will be for Departments to decide the destination of further relocations.

Sir Ronald Cohen

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met Sir Ronald Cohen to discuss official Government business.

Gordon Brown: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of individuals and organisations as part of the process of policy development and analysis. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's usual practice to provide details of all such meetings. Treasury meetings are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code, as appropriate.

Stamp Duty

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to review the percentage of shared ownership house purchase price that is eligible for stamp duty.

Stephen Timms: The Government keep all taxes under review.

WALES

Sports Broadcasting

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the context of BBC -charter renewal on the role of the broadcasting of sport in promoting Wales.

Peter Hain: The renewal of the charter presents an opportunity to preserve the BBC as a strong independent broadcaster.
	It plays an important part in the national life of Wales—not least in its excellent coverage of sport.

Aerospace Industry

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet and National Assembly for Wales colleagues on future investment in the aerospace industry in Wales.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues and the First Minister on a number of issues, including the very successful aerospace sector in Wales.

Railways

Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the possible future use of Meridian trains on the Holyhead to Euston rail route.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues about matters affecting transport in Wales. I understand that the Strategic Rail Authority has written to stakeholders, including hon. Members representing north Wales constituencies, to consult them about future service levels, particularly beyond 2008, when the physical infrastructure works on the West Coast Main Line will be complete. Various options for improving the frequency of services, and types of rolling stock are being considered.

Inward Investment

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales Government regarding inward investment into Wales.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a variety of subjects, including the promotion of Wales as a business location. Wales is in a strong position to take advantage of increasing global trade, and benefit rapidly from new ideas, management techniques and production methods.

Antisocial Behaviour

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the First Secretary to discuss strategies to combat antisocial behaviour in (a) Wales and (b) Aberavon.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with Assembly colleagues on matters affecting Wales.
	Police forces and partner organisations in Wales are increasingly using the wide range of powers, which we have put in place, to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Antisocial Behaviour

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will meet the First Secretary to discuss strategies to combat antisocial behaviour in (a) Wales and (b) Ogmore.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with Assembly colleagues on matters affecting Wales.
	Police forces and partner organisations in Wales are increasingly using the wide range of powers, which we have put in place, to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Coal Health Claims Monitoring Group

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the oral answer of 2 March 2005, Official Report, column 1150, on Coal Health Claims Monitoring Group, if he will break down the payments made to ex-miners by (a) respiratory disease and (b) vibration white finger compensation schemes.

Don Touhig: Figures available at the time of my oral reply showed that a total of over £344 million had been paid out in Wales for respiratory claims and over £122 million for vibration white finger (VWF). This brought the total paid out in Wales since the start to over £467 million.
	Since my reply, these figures have increased, with over £347 million paid out for respiratory disease and over £123 million for VWF.
	This is an increase of £3 million, bringing us to a combined total of over £470 million paid out in Wales for both schemes so far.

Dee Estuary

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when a decision will be made regarding the Port of Mostyn's application to dredge the Dee Estuary.

Don Touhig: Decisions on the Port of Mostyn's proposals are matters for the National Assembly for Wales, the Environment Agency and the Department for Transport.
	The regulators are considering a range of complex issues, including environmental factors. It is not possible to say when a decision will be reached.

Medical Staff

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the National Assembly for Wales on joint initiatives to increase the numbers of medical staff in Wales.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer) earlier today, at Oral Questions to the Secretary of State for Wales.

Wildlife Management (Dee Estuary)

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has held with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales Government regarding the management of wildlife on the Dee Estuary.

Don Touhig: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with Assembly Ministers. The Dee Estuary is a candidate 'Special Area for Conservation' under European Habitat Regulations. It includes two nature reserves and seven Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It supports a large bird population over the winter, and has a number of rare plants and animals, including 12 internationally important bird species.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the letter of 18 November 2004 from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford, concerning Mr. East of Essex County Cricket Club.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The original letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford was not received in the Department. My office has however obtained a copy of the letter and I replied to the hon. Member on 5 April.

Sport England

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what percentage of Sport England's Exchequer grant in aid was spent on (a) staff costs, excluding those for national centres, (b) administrative costs, (c) publicity promotions and communications, (d) grants to national governing bodies, (e) grants to Sportscoach UK, (f) sports science and sports medicine, (g) national centres, (h) grants to other national sports bodies, excluding national governing bodies and (i) regional support, in each year from 2002–03 to 2005–06.

Richard Caborn: The following table provides the percentage of Sport England's grant in aid spent on the costs listed (a) to (i).
	
		Percentage
		
			2002–03  2003–04  2004–05 2005–06 (projected) 
		
		
			 (a) Staff costs 21.18 8.79 8.05 9.60 
			 (b) Administrative costs 15.05 3.77 4.61 4.40 
			 (c) Publicity promotions and communications 1.61 1.84 1.11 0.90 
			 (d) Grants to national governing bodies (including P.E., school sport and club links and community club development programme) 12.03 9.90 30.79 38.50 
			 (e) Grants to Sportscoach UK 1.76 1.48 4.35 6.00 
			 (f) Sports science and medicine 0.47 0.16 0.00 0.00 
			 (g) National centres 27.42 26.24 19.18 14.40 
			 (h) Grants to other national bodies (including the Central Council for Physical Recreation and Equity) 12.45 11.88 11.05 11.05 
			 (i) Regional support 1.26 1.18 1.26 2.60

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Commission on Sustainable Development

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which Minister from his Department will be attending the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York in April.

Hilary Benn: The Department will provide expert and senior policy support to the representatives of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who lead on this issue.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when he intends to reply to the letter dated 10 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. O. Brobdan, sent again on 22 February.

Hilary Benn: DFID has no record of a letter dated 10 January, from the right hon. Member on behalf of Mr. O. Brobdan. A reply to the letter of 22 February was issued on 5 April.

SCOTLAND

Asylum Seekers (Grants)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the payments and grants made by the Government to each local authority in Scotland to reimburse the costs of supporting asylum seekers in each year from 1996–97 to the establishment of the Scottish Executive.

Anne McGuire: Immediately prior to 1 April 1999, the budget for support of asylum seekers was split between the then Department of Social Security and the Department of Health. The Department of Social Security was responsible for supporting applicants who made their application at a port of entry until such times as an initial decision was recorded on the claim for asylum. The Department of Health picked up the costs of supporting those claiming asylum after entry and also appellants (including those who made their original application on arrival).
	The budget for adult and family asylum seekers transferred to the Home Office on 1 April 1999. The budget for unaccompanied asylum seeking children transferred to the Home Office on 1 April 2000.
	For information on the costs to the Government in relation to asylum seekers prior to 1999–2000, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 May 2000, Official Report, column 331W by the then Home Secretary. The figures contained in the answer are global, and cover the entire of the UK. They cannot be broken down further into areas.

Departmental Budget

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the planned (a) capital and (b) resource budget for his Department is for 2011–12.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4 April 2005, Official Report, column 1170W by my hon. Friend, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  if he will list the occasions between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 when special advisers attended meetings with external representatives at which Ministers were not present;
	(2)  if he will list the speeches his special advisers made in an official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004, broken down by date.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 10 February 2005, Official Report, column 1648W to questions 203460 and 203493.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Council Tax

John Mann: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria he has set for class R exemptions from council tax for narrow boat resident owners.

Nick Raynsford: A mooring occupied by a boat which is somebody's sole or main residence is deemed to be a "dwelling" for council tax purposes and will therefore attract a council tax liability in the same way as other domestic types of property. Under class R of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 (as amended) a dwelling consisting of a mooring which is not occupied by a boat is exempt from council tax.

National House Building Council

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what arrangements he has in place to monitor the building control and inspection procedures of the National House Building Council; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: As approved inspectors, the National House Building Council has to satisfy the Construction Industry Council's requirements to continue to practice as a building control body. They are also obliged to apply 12 standards specified in our "Building Control Performance Standards" handbook.

Roadside Advertising

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent discussions he has held with Cheshire county council on the removal of unlawfully placed roadside advertising.

Keith Hill: No recent discussions have been held with Cheshire county council on this subject.

Roadside Advertising

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has held with other Departments on the potential for distraction caused by temporary wheeled billboards placed next to motorways.

Keith Hill: Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have had regular contact with the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency on the road safety aspects of siting advertisements alongside motorways.

Social Housing

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much central funding has been invested in (a) social and (b) council housing in (i) the Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since 1997.

Keith Hill: Details of the capital allocations made for housing investment in South Tyneside, the north-east region and England as whole since 1997–98 are tabled as follows. Information is not readily available for the Jarrow constituency.
	
		£ million
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 South Tyneside 
			 Housing investment Programme(1) 3.6 6.3 6.2 10.6 
			 Major Repairs Allowance(2) — — — — 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation(2) — — — — 
			 Market renewal(3) — — — — 
			 Approved Development programme(4) 1.1 1.1 1.8 0.8 
			 Other(5) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 
			 Total 5.2 7.9 8.5 11.6 
			  
			 North East 
			 Housing investment Programme(1) 49.8 73.7 77.3 130.4 
			 Major Repairs Allowance(2) — — — — 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation(2) — — — — 
			 Market renewal(3) — — — — 
			 Approved Development programme(4) 21.7 18.9 18.4 20.5 
			 Other(5) 11.5 10.0 10.1 3.4 
			 Total 83.0 102.6 105.8 154.2 
			  
			 England 
			 Housing investment Programme(1) 803 1,113 1,179 2,019 
			 Major Repairs Allowance(2) — — — — 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation(2) — — — — 
			 Market renewal(3) — — — — 
			 Approved Development programme(4) 683 606 638 717 
			 Starter Home Initiative — — — — 
			 Other(5) 301 256 232 72 
			 Total 1,787 1,975 2,049 2,807 
		
	
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 South Tyneside  
			 Housing investment Programme(1) 3.1 3.5 3.1 3.4 3.0 
			 Major Repairs Allowance(2) 11.1 11.0 10.9 10.9 11.0 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation(2) — — — — — 
			 Market renewal(3) — — — — — 
			 Approved Development programme(4) 1.3 2.8 4.4 4.9 2.6 
			 Other(5) 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 Total 15.6 17.6 18.7 19.4 16.9 
			   
			 North East  
			 Housing investment Programme(1) 43.8 47.0 41.0 46.5 47.9 
			 Major Repairs Allowance(2) 114.4 109.4 105.6 105.8 95.5 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation(2) — 5.6 42.1 48.8 98.6 
			 Market renewal(3) — — 7.0 28.0 38.0 
			 Approved Development programme(4) 22.9 22.3 41.3 37.4 38.0 
			 Other(5) 4.2 4.3 4.5 4.4 4.8 
			 Total 185.3 188.6 241.4 270.9 322.8 
			   
			 England  
			 Housing investment Programme(1) 891 945 792 795 842 
			 Major Repairs Allowance(2) 1,587 1,529 1,459 1,459 1,417 
			 Arms Length Management Organisation(2) — 56 321 575 956 
			 Market renewal(3) — — 40 170 290 
			 Approved Development programme(4) 775 918 1,613 1,618 1,676 
			 Starter Home Initiative 2 67 173 8 — 
			 Other(5) 105 96 107 107 107 
			 Total 3,361 3,611 4,505 4,732 5,288 
		
	
	(1) Housing Annual Capital Guidelines/Supported Capital Expenditure and Capital Receipts Initiative—funding to support local authorities overall housing capital programmes.
	(2) For maintaining and improving council housing.
	(3) Funding to support long-term strategies for tackling low demand/abandonment.
	(4) Resources provided to registered social landlords for new/replacement affordable housing.
	(5) Allocations to local authorities for disabled facilities grants, private sector renewal grant and cash incentive schemes; there are no longer separate allocations for the last two of these.

Thames Gateway

Llew Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to ensure that a new heat grid and combined heat and power plants are installed as part of his sustainable communities plan for the Thames Gateway.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Companion Guide for Planning Policy Statement 22 (planning for renewable energy) highlights the benefits of using renewable-powered CHP schemes in developments.
	In addition, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister announced that, from April 2006, all publicly funded new homes in the Thames Gateway will subscribe to the Code for Sustainable Buildings, which will bring new buildings up to world-class environmental standards. The Code will set out clearly specified performance based criteria for energy efficiency, rather than stipulating particular methods. Flagship projects using the code will be demonstrated in the Thames Gateway by both the public and private sectors before being rolled out nationally.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Corporate Plan

Kevan Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission when the Electoral Commission's Corporate Plan for 2005–06 to 2009–10 was approved by the Speaker's Committee.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission's Corporate Plan for 2005–06 to 2009–10 was approved by the Speaker's Committee at its meeting on 2 February. The plan was laid before the House by the Speaker, on behalf of the Speaker's Committee, on 24 March as House of Commons Paper No. 347. Copies are available in the Vote Office.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Construction Industry

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate the number of workers in the building industry (a) directly employed by agencies and (b) subcontracted to building firms.

Stephen Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Dr. John Pugh, dated 6 April 2005
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about employment in the building industry. (219953)
	Information is available from the Labour Force Survey about people working in temporary employment in the building industry who give their reason for not being in a permanent job as being an "agency worker". During the three months ending November 2004, an estimated 11,000 people were classified in this category.
	Further information relating to workers in the building industry who were directly employed by agencies or subcontracted to building firms, is not available.
	These estimates from the Labour Force Survey are, as with any statistical sample survey, subject to sampling variability.

Correspondence

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East dated 5 January 2005 and 25 July 2004 regarding a constituent, Mr. Christopher Yeomans.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A response to the 25 July 2004 letter (which covers the letter of 5 January 2005) will be sent out in the first week in April. It appears that due to an administrative error this was not responded to earlier.

Correspondence

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute, dated 22 November 2004 and 31 January 2005, concerning a constituent who had lodged a claim against British Coal and her Department.

Nigel Griffiths: I have answered the hon. Member's letter today. I apologise for the delay.

Economic Partnership Agreements

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has made to the European Commission on ACP countries retaining national and regional autonomy in Economic Partnership Agreements with the EU.

Douglas Alexander: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 575W.

EU Directives

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many EU (a) regulations and (b) directives covering matters within the responsibility of her Department have been repealed since 1 April 2004.

Nigel Griffiths: The European Commission publishes information on the repeal of EU regulations and directives in its simplification progress reports. Its last report was published in June 2004. The next report will cover the period since 1 April 2004.

EU Regional Funding

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what action the Government are taking to secure the best outcome for regions in the UK from negotiations regarding the European Convergence (Objective 1) Programme post 2006;
	(2)  what action the Government will take to support regions which risk losing eligibility for European convergence funding in the post 2006 programme because of the effect of enlargement upon allocation of Extra Regio.

Douglas Alexander: The Government set out their approach to the negotiations on the future of the EU structural and cohesion funds in their consultation document, "A new Regional Policy for the United Kingdom", of March 2003 and in my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry's two written statements to Parliament of 17 September and 11 December 2003.

Exporters

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with representatives of (a) the textile industry, (b) clothing manufacturers and exporters, (c) the Scottish Executive and (d) Scottish Enterprise regarding small and medium-sized enterprises participating in exhibitions and missions in export markets under the support for exhibitions and seminars abroad scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The textile and clothing industries have made representations to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and other Ministers about changes to the support for exhibitions and seminars abroad scheme from 2006–07. UK Trade and Investment has consulted industry and Scottish Development International on the detail of these changes, which aim to focus assistance on the small and medium-sized enterprises who can benefit most, namely new-to-export companies.

Independent Generators

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what grants are available to individuals who want to provide their own electricity independent from the national grid.

Mike O'Brien: The DTI provides capital grants to individuals to encourage the uptake of small scale renewable technologies to generate electricity through the Clear Skies programme and the Major PV Demonstration programme. Grants are also provided by the Scottish Executive through the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative.

Regional Development Agencies

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many staff in each regional development agency work on supporting exporters in the (a) civil aerospace, (b) agriculture, horticulture and fisheries, (c) airports, (d) automotive, (e) biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, (f) business and consumer services, (g) chemicals, (h) clothing, footwear and fashions, (i) communications, (j) construction, (k) creative and media, (l) education and training, (m) electronics and IT hardware, (n) environment, (o) financial services, (p) fire, police and security, (q) food and drink, (r) giftware, jewellery and tableware, (s) healthcare and medical, (t) household goods, furniture and furnishings, (u) leisure and tourism, (v) marine, (w) mechanical engineering and process engineering, (x) metallurgical process plant, (y) metals and minerals, (z) mining, (aa) oil and gas, (bb) ports and logistics, (cc) power, (dd) railways, (ee) software and computer services business-to-business, (ff) sports and leisure infrastructure, (gg) textiles, interior textiles and carpets and (hh) water sectors.

Douglas Alexander: Support for exporters in England is the responsibility of UK Trade and Investment, which has agreed with the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) to operate as their international trade arm. Through this relationship, UKTI funds a network of over 270 International Trade Advisers (ITAs) who provide support and advice on international trade to businesses within each region. The delivery of UKTI trade services for each region is in line with the Regional International Trade Strategy (RITS), which is closely linked to the Regional Economic Strategy, and drawn together by UKTI and the RDA, in consultation with business representatives, to reflect regional priorities. Therefore, the number of ITAs working in a particular sector will depend on the varying regional sector priorities as reflected in each RITS.

Regional Development Agencies

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the responsibilities of each of the regional development agencies are with regard to inward investment.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) alongside the development agencies of the devolved Administrations and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) comprise the UK's inward investment network. UKTI leads and guides the network. It funds the RDAs to enable them to provide a tailored service to potential inward investors in co-operation with UKTI, to attract inward investment to the UK and to maintain and expand that investment.

Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many regulations have been repealed by her Department since 1 October 2004.

Nigel Griffiths: Since 1 April 2004, DTI regulatory reforms which have reduced burdens on business include:
	Repeal of the Trading Stamps Act by Regulatory Reform order, expected to produce annual administrative cost savings of £0.5–£1.5 million.
	Modernisation of the Competition regime completed in 2004; this will reduce compliance costs for business, generating annual savings to business of up to £1.5 million.
	Administrative simplification to reduce burdens on directory publishers, saving business £1 million per year: through the Directory Publishing—reducing and simplifying regulations (Amends Unsolicited Goods and Services Act).
	Wireless Telegraphy (Register) Regulations 2004; together with the Communications Act 2003 these will generate £5.4 million savings per annum to business.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Adult Disadvantages

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will recalculate the figures placed in the Library following the answer to the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Mr. Flight) of 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 1715W, on adult disadvantages, to include retirement on 31 December 2004.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not currently available. The calculations referred to are based on figures published by UBS Global Asset Management. Figures for 2004 are expected to be published in June.

Asylum Seekers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the payments and grants made by his Department and its predecessors to each local authority in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland to reimburse the costs of supporting asylum seekers in each year from 1996–97 until the transfer of responsibility to the Home Office.

Chris Pond: No payments or grants were made to local authorities specifically in respect of asylum seekers, including those subsidies for housing benefit or council tax benefit. Although asylum seekers may have been eligible for housing benefit and/or council tax benefit, estimates of the proportion of subsidy payments which relate to asylum seekers for each local authority are unavailable.

Carers Allowance (Milton Keynes)

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Milton Keynes are in receipt of carers allowance.

Maria Eagle: The administration of carers allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Vivien Hopkins to Dr. Phyllis Starkey, dated 6 April 2005
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Milton Keynes are in receipt of carers' allowance. The Minister for Disabled People, Maria Eagle MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The information available for Milton Keynes, as at 30th November 2004 and broken down by constituency, is as follows.
	
		
			  In Payment Entitlement 
		
		
			 Milton Keynes South West 670 1,050 
			 Milton Keynes North East 525 780 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures taken from a 100 per cent. sample at 30 November 2004.
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Entitlement includes people in payment, as well as those with underlying entitlement but not actually receiving payment because of the overlapping benefit rules.
	Source:
	Information Directorate.
	I hope this is helpful.

Dementia Sufferers

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) financial and (b) other support is available for the carers and family members of people suffering from dementia.

Maria Eagle: Carers have access to the full range of social security benefits depending on their individual circumstances. Carers of severely disabled people in receipt of attendance allowance or the middle/highest rate of disability living allowance care component may be entitled to carer's allowance.
	The Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 gives carers a right to an assessment of their needs, and gives local councils a mandatory duty to support carers by providing services such as short breaks. The Carer's Grant funds provision of such services and breaks, and will be worth £185 million in 2005–06.
	The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 which comes into force on 1 April 2005 places a duty on councils to inform carers, in certain circumstances, of their right to an assessment of their needs:
	provides that when assessing a carer's needs, councils must take into account whether the carer works or wishes to work, undertakes or wishes to undertake education, training or leisure activities; and
	facilitates co-operation between authorities in relation to the provision of services relevant to carers.

Disabled People

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) independent living and (b) independent advocacy for disabled people.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for financing the Independent Living Funds which currently benefits some 16,400 severely disabled people and also acts as sponsor for the Motability scheme which helps finance personal transport for some 378,000 disabled people.
	In addition, independent living is one of the key areas addressed in the recent Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report "Improving the life chances of disabled people" a copy of which is available in the Library. The report sets out a vision that by 2025 disabled people will have the full opportunities and choices necessary to enable them to improve their quality of life. Among the proposals are a range of measures including new individual budgets, together with better advice and advocacy support. This is a cross-Government report, and this Department will be coordinating the overall implementation action.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the average core annual pension entitlement of the 15,000 occupational pension scheme members who will be covered by the Financial Assistance Scheme's provisions for those within three years of retirement age.

Malcolm Wicks: We shall not have full information on members' entitlements under their schemes until their schemes are close to completing wind up.
	As announced in my ministerial written statement of 4 April 2005, Official Report, columns 126–28WS, we are also in the process of consulting on the details of how "core pension entitlement" will be determined for the purposes of the FAS. The detailed definition will be subject to the outcome of the consultation and until it is finalised we are unable to estimate the average entitlement for these scheme members.

Health and Safety at Work

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make company directors legally responsible for health and safety breaches within their companies;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the number of convictions for breaches of health and safety legislation of the absence of legally binding duties for health and safety on company directors;

Chris Pond: The Government believe that there is already an appropriate balance of legislative and non-legislative responsibilities on directors in relation to health and safety and have no immediate plans to legislate.
	However, we have asked the Health and Safety Executive to assess the effectiveness of the current measures in place concerning director responsibilities for health and safety, to review all the available evidence and to report its findings together with recommendations by December 2005. The issues raised by my hon. Friend will be considered as part of that assessment.
	Once this review has been completed, the Government will be in a position to reconsider the issue of further legislation.

Income Support

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the most common reasons are that people of working age claim income support; and how many claimants there were in each category for the last year for which figures are available.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the following table.
	
		Income support claimants of working age in Great Britain by client group: February 2004 to November 2004 -- Number
		
			  All working age Aged 60 or over Disabled Lone parent Others 
		
		
			 February 2004 2,199,500 11,700 1,118,000 820,500 249,200 
			 May 2004 2,170,800 11,000 1,116,100 809,800 234,000 
			 August 2004 2,169,100 10,800 1,120,500 804,000 233,800 
			 November 2004 2,147,900 10,900 1,124,400 781,700 230,800 
			 Four quarter average 2,171,800 11,100 1,119,700 804,000 237,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Caseload figures have been rounded to the nearest.
	2. Working age refers to men aged 16 to 64 and women aged 16 to 59.
	3. 'Aged 60 or over' are cases where the claimant and/or partner is 60 or over.
	4. Disabled category refers to claimants aged under 60 with a disability premium and not in receipt of a pensioner premium.
	5. Lone parents are claimants aged under 60 with dependants and not in receipt of a disability premium or pensioner premium.
	6. Others are those who do not fall into any of the other three categories.
	Source:
	Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.

Pensioners

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households will be eligible for winter fuel payments in 2005–06 but will not be eligible for the special £200 payment in respect of council tax.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 4 April 2005
	We forecast that 8.4 million households will be eligible for a winter fuel payment in 2005–06, of these it is estimated that 3.5 million will not be eligible for the £200 council tax payment. This comprises:
	1.7 million households where no one in the household is aged 65 or over.
	1.8 million households where the eldest occupant is aged 65 or over and eligible for full council tax rebate because they are in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit. Of these, 1.5 million households where the eldest occupant is aged 70 or over will however be eligible for the £50 payment for living expenses announced in the Pre-Budget Report.
	Source
	Forecasts based on DWP administrative data and GAD population estimates.

Pensioners

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average (a) council tax benefit and (b) housing benefit payment to pensioners was in the last period for which figures are available.

Chris Pond: The average council tax benefit payment to claimants over 60 is £11.90 a week.
	The average housing benefit payment to those claimants over 60 is £48.98 a week.
	Notes:
	1. The figures are based on a one per cent. sample and subject to a degree of sampling variation. 2. Council tax benefit data excludes any second adult rebate cases. 3. Housing benefit data excludes extended payments. 4. The figures are rounded to the nearest penny. 5. The figures refer to cases where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over.
	Source:
	Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system, annual one per cent. sample, taken in May 2003.

Statutory Maternity Pay

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pregnant women in York qualified for statutory maternity pay in (a) 1997 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available.

Work-focused Interviews

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the average length of time taken for a work-focused interview was in 2004;
	(2)  how many work-focused interviews have been conducted since the new deal programme was introduced in 1998; and in how many cases participation in the new deal ended with such an interview.

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie to Paul Holmes, dated 6 April 2005
	The Secretary of State has asked David Anderson, Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, to reply to your questions asking what the average length of time taken for a Work Focused Interview was in 2004, how many Work Focused Interviews have been conducted since the first New Deal programme was introduced in 1998 and in how many cases participation in the New Deal ended with such an interview. I am replying on behalf of Mr Anderson as one of the Directors of the Jobcentre Plus Board.
	Up to 60 minutes is allowed for a Work Focused Interview (WFI) although actual timings will vary. Evidence shows that in practice 40 minutes is sufficient to complete an initial WFI, with the balance of 20 minutes available if required, for supporting activity such as referral to jobs, the New Deal or other appropriate provision.
	Customers making a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance are required to attend WFIs, at the start and at set intervals throughout their claim, as a condition of their claim.
	WFIs for lone parents were introduced in October 2000 for lone parents making new or repeat claims to Income Support in three pathfinder areas and were then introduced nationally on 30 April 2001.
	WFIs for customers claiming Income Support, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer's Allowance or any Bereavement Benefit were introduced as part of the rollout of Jobcentre Plus integrated offices from October 2001. WFI conditionality requires customers making a claim for these benefits to attend a WFI at the start of their claim and at set intervals throughout their claim and, as such, are not part of any mandatory or voluntary New Deal although referral to such a programme may be the outcome of a WFI. Currently WFI conditionality for these benefits operates in around 50 per cent. of Jobcentre Plus offices but we expect rollout to be complete by the summer of 2006.
	The available information is that, since 2001, there have been 3,209,000 WFIs that have been conducted at the outset of a claim.

CABINET OFFICE

Government Policy Co-ordination

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the areas in which he has co-ordinated Government policy; when he set himself the task of so doing in each case; what his objectives were; what the outcomes were; and which Government Departments were involved.

Alan Milburn: I was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by the Prime Minister in September 2004.
	I have a cross-Government role in the co-ordination of Government policy. I am also responsible for the work of the Strategy Unit and the Policy Directorate.
	As a result I have been involved in a wide range of policy issues including those covered by the Cabinet Committees of which I am a member.
	Detailed information about the development of Government policy is not routinely disclosed.

Sikhs (Public Appointments)

Rob Marris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what steps he has taken in the last four years to increase the number of applications received from members of the British Sikh community for public appointments to (a) local and (b) national decision-making bodies;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of progress since June 2001 in increasing the number of public appointments to (a) local and (b) national decision-making bodies of members of the British Sikh community; and what estimate he has made of the number of such appointments since that date.

David Miliband: The Government remain committed to encouraging applications for public appointments from all sections of society. Data are not collected centrally on applications and appointments from more specific groups, but the Cabinet Office does monitor progress on the Government's broader targets to ensure that the make-up of the boards of public bodies is representative in terms of gender, ethnicity and disabled people. The latest report, "Delivering Diversity in Public Appointments 2004", published on 16 December 2004 shows that the proportion of public appointments held by people from a minority ethnic background was 7.7 per cent. in 2004, up from 7.4 per cent. in 2002. The report also sets out targets set by individual Departments and action plans to achieve those targets.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the voting system in place for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.

Bill Rammell: The choice of voting system for the Afghan parliamentary elections scheduled for 18 September is single non-transferable vote. The Government of Afghanistan concluded that this was the only system the Afghan people would immediately recognise as democratic. The challenge now is to ensure that elections are as well-organised and transparent as possible. The UK and other international partners are offering support to the Government of Afghanistan to ensure the success of the elections.

Anti-semitic Incitement

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made regarding anti-Semitic incitement to the governments of (a) Iran, (b) Syria and (c) Egypt.

Bill Rammell: We remain deeply concerned at continuing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric from senior figures in the Iranian regime. Senior UK officials discussed this most recently with representatives of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on 2 February. We have also pressed the Iranian authorities on many occasions to address international concerns about Iran's links to groups undermining the Middle East Peace Process through violence.
	We have raised the issue of anti-Semitism with the Egyptian and Syrian authorities in the past, but have not had occasion to do so recently.

China

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department took to consult business organisations regarding the lifting of the arms embargo on China.

Denis MacShane: Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have had frequent contacts with individual companies and representative business organisations regarding the future of the EU arms embargo on China. These discussions are continuing.

China

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals are under sentence of death in China; and what steps the Government are taking to assist in these cases.

Chris Mullin: In February 2003, two British nationals (Overseas) were sentenced to death in China. We have not been granted consular access to these British nationals, nor have we received any information about them from the Chinese authorities.
	In March 2003, my noble Friend Baroness Amos, the then Minister responsible for consular matters, wrote to the Vice Minister of the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) and requested that the sentences be commuted to terms of imprisonment. We did not receive a response. In February 2005, the British Embassy in Beijing wrote to the MFA requesting an update on these two cases. We are awaiting a response.
	We are resolutely opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. We will continue our enquiries about these British nationals and will make representations on their behalf at every appropriate opportunity.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated (a) 19 January with regard to Mr. Fernando, (b) 17 February with regard to Mr. Rashid, (c) 14 February with regard to U. Ilyias and (d) 23 February with regard to Anthony Leroy Thompson.

Chris Mullin: My right hon. Friend wrote to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary with regard to Mr. Fernando on 18 January and my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Douglas Alexander) replied on 27 January.
	The letter from my right hon. Friend with regard to a Mr. Rashid is dated 14 February and I replied on 24 February.
	There is no record of a letter dated 14 February from my right hon. Friend to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with regard to U Ilyias. The last correspondence on this was the Foreign Secretary's reply of 13 January.
	The Foreign Secretary replied to my right hon. Friend's letter of 23 February with regard to Anthony Leroy Thompson on 31 March.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter dated 20 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Hina Khalid.

Chris Mullin: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 1 April. I apologise for the delay.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact on the (a) security and (b) humanitarian situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwandan Joint Border Verification Mechanism established in the Pretoria peace accord of September 2002; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: The Joint Verification Mechanism (JVM) between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda did not become operational until December 2004. It has been a useful confidence-building measure, and combined with the strengthened mandate and more robust approach of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, is helping to maintain pressure on the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda, who declared in Rome on 31 March that they would disarm. We call on them to do so.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) financial and (b) logistical assistance the UK has offered (i) directly, (ii) through the EU and (iii) through the UN Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo to (A) the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and (B) the government of Rwanda for the activation and implementation of the Joint Border Verification Mechanism between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We worked closely with the UN and the Governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, exerting political pressure to ensure that this important confidence-building measure was established, and continue to provide political support, encouraging both sides to use the Joint Verification Mechanism (JVM) to investigate allegations.
	The United Nations peacekeeping mission (MONUC) provides logistical and secretariat support to the JVM. The UK's financial contribution to MONUC was an estimated £36 million in financial year 2004–05.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates he has made of the number of armed forces active in Eastern Congo that are not under the command of either the Government of Congo or the UN.

Chris Mullin: Recent United Nations estimates suggest that there are around 15,000 militiamen in Ituri and around 20,000 Rwandan Hutu (Forces Democratiques de Liberation de Rwanda) rebels in the Kivu provinces. There is also a smaller number of other foreign armed fighters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
	Central government control of troops nominally under its command is tenuous in eastern DRC. Some groups, although officially part of the DRC armed forces, operate independently of the army command structure.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  from whom he sought legal advice regarding the incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights within the EU constitutional treaty;
	(2)  from whom he sought legal advice on changes to the qualified majority voting rules of the EU set out in the constitution for Europe.

Denis MacShane: There is a strong public interest in ensuring that a Government Department, in the process of formulating policy, is able to act free from external pressure in deciding whether it seeks legal advice, at what stage, and from whom. Accordingly, it is not the Government's practice to indicate on which issues, or from whom, legal advice has been sought.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what procedures he expects would be followed if (a) France, (b) the Netherlands and (c) the UK were to fail to ratify the constitutional treaty;
	(2)  what his policy will be should (a) France and (b) the Netherlands fail to ratify the constitution for Europe following its referendum.

Denis MacShane: Under the terms of the EU constitutional treaty, it is the separate obligation of each of the 25 signatories of the constitutional treaty to seek ratification of the treaty by the appropriate domestic arrangements of each member state. In the event of a member state being unable to ratify the treaty, and in line with declaration 30 of the treaty, the matter would be referred to the European Council.

European Court of Justice

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those items of legislation introduced since 1997 in response to a ruling against the Government at the European Court of Justice.

Denis MacShane: Substantive answer from Mr. Denis MacShane to John Hayes:
	You recently tabled a Parliamentary Question asking the Foreign Secretary to list those items of legislation introduced since 1997 in response to a ruling against the Government in the European Court of Justice, I answered as Minister for Europe and informed you that I would write with further details when they were available. I am pleased to be able to do so now.
	Legislation introduced as a result of rulings in the European Court of Justice is relevant to all Government Departments, not just the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The information below has been collated from information received from all Departments, with the exception of HM Treasury, the Department for Transport and the Wales Office, who were unable to provide the information from their records.
	
		Table of secondary legislation since 1997
		
			 Title of legislation SI number Amendments introduced as a result of specified ruling by ECJ 
		
		
			 Regulation 5, Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Amendment Regulation 1997 SI 1997/2538 Case C-237/94, John O'Flynn v Adjudication Officer 
			 Regulation 2, Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2000 SI 2000/729 Case C-382/98, R v Secretary of State for Social Security, ex p John Henry Taylor 
			 Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 SI 1999/1102 Case C-13/94, P v S and Cornwall County Council 
			 Equal Pay Act 1970 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 SI 2003/1656 Case C-326/96, Levez v TH Jennings (Harlow Pools) Ltd, and Case C-78/98, Preston v Wolverhampton Healthcare NHS Trust 
			 Regulation 3 and 4, Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 SI 2003/1657 Case C-185/97, Coote v Granada Hospitality Ltd 
			 Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2001 SI 2001/3256 Case C-173/99, R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte BECTU 
			 Regulation 11, Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2000 SI 2000/2326 Case C-370/90, R v Immigration Appeal Tribunal and Surrender Singh, ex parte Secretary of State for the Home Department 
			 Regulation 2(3), Immigration (European Economic Area) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 SI 2003/549 Case C-413/99, Baumbast v Secretary of State for the Home Department 
			 Regulation 2, Immigration (European Economic Area) (Amendment) Regulations 2005 SI 2005/47 Case C-109/01, Akrich v Secretary of State for the Home Department 
			 Value Added Tax (Insurance) Order 2004 SI 2004/3083 Case C-394/96, Card Protection Plan v The Commissioners of Customs and Excise 
			 Drinking Water (Undertakings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 SI 2000/1297 Case C-340/96, Commission v United Kingdom 
			 Nitrates Vulnerable Zones (Additional Designations) (England) (No 2) Regulations 2002 SI 2002/2614 Case C-69/99, Commission v United Kingdom 
			 Amendment to Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. Done by way of an amendment scheme laid before Parliament on 22/07/04 N/A Case C-78/98, Preston v Wolverhampton Healthcare NHS Trust 
			 Immigration Act 1971 (c.77) (amended December 2004) Section 3(2) Case C-200/02, Chen v Secretary of State for the Home Department 
			 Finance Act 2000 (c.17) Corporation tax rules Case C-254/96, ICI v Colmer. Amendments to these rules also a result of a wide ranging modernisation.

Hezbollah

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the motion of the European Parliament in favour of outlawing Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation.

Bill Rammell: The UK has already proscribed the terrorist wing of Hezbollah (the External Security Organisation). We keep the status of Hezbollah under constant review, and liaise closely with our European and US colleagues. The list of proscribed organisations in the UK is also kept under constant review, in light of changing circumstances.

Hezbollah

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk posed by Hezbollah to the establishment of stable Palestinian government in the Palestinian Territories.

Bill Rammell: Terrorist attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian Rejectionist Groups risk disrupting relations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and cause many innocent casualties. These groups must cease terrorist attacks.

Hezbollah

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk posed by Hezbollah to the establishment of stable Palestinian Government in the Palestinian Territories.

Bill Rammell: Terrorist attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian rejectionist groups risk disrupting relations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel and cause many innocent casualties. These groups must cease terrorist attacks.

Intelligence Operations

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what additional resources he plans to commit to support the delivery of the changes in the operation of British secret intelligence set out in Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction: Implementation of its Conclusions, Cm6492, published on 23 March.

Jack Straw: As set out in Cm6492, the Government have instigated a range of improvements to the handling and processing of secret intelligence material. The assessments staff in the Cabinet Office will increase in size by approximately one third. Increased resources have been made available to the Security and Intelligence Services to improve scrutiny and validation of sources. We are developing a new IT system which will improve dissemination of intelligence material and we will be appointing a professional head of intelligence analysis in the Cabinet Office tasked with ensuring the quality and coverage of our analysis capability.

Iran

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people executed in Iran (a) since May 1999 and (b) between January 1995 and May 1999.

Bill Rammell: We are unable to assess reliably the number of executions taking place in Iran. Respected international human rights NGOs have published estimates in the region of 100 cases a year.

Iran

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made since November 2003 in improving human rights in Iran as a result of the EU-Iran human rights dialogue.

Bill Rammell: An evaluation of the EU-Iran human rights dialogue by the EU presidency in October 2004 found that there had been little overall progress in the human rights situation in Iran since the start of the dialogue and recommended ways that the dialogue process could be made more effective. The EU is encouraging Iran to renew its commitment to the process and has proposed substantive improvements. The EU has made clear that its relations with Iran can only move forward if Iran takes action to address the EU's concerns, including in the area of human rights.

Iran

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest estimate is of the number of (a) people sentenced to death in Iran and (b) executions carried out in the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: We are unable to assess reliably the numbers of people sentenced to death and executed in Iran during the past 12 months. Amnesty International has reported that 108 people were executed in Iran in 2003. The number sentenced to death is likely to be substantially higher.
	We have serious concerns about the use of the death penalty in Iran, which we have made clear to the Iranian authorities on many occasions.

Iran

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the production of enriched uranium by the government of Iran; whether he has assessed Iran as being in breach of the non-proliferation treaty as a result of such production; and if he will make a statement on UK relations with Iran.

Denis MacShane: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported extensively on Iran's past nuclear activities, including on some enrichment of uranium to low levels. Iran agreed to suspend all its enrichment-related activities under the so-called "Paris Agreement" of 15 November 2004. This suspension has been verified by the IAEA.
	Iran's past enrichment activities were not declared to the IAEA at the time, as Iran was obliged to do under its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, pursuant to its obligations under the nuclear con-proliferation treaty.
	Our policy towards Iran is one of constructive, but critical, engagement. We maintain a robust dialogue on issues of concern, such as Iran's nuclear programme; human rights record; approach to the fight against terrorism; and attitude to the middle east peace process.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether consent was sought from the originator of the information upon which the UK based its claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa, to pass it to the Butler Review; and whether consent was sought to pass the information to (a) the US Central Intelligence Agency, (b) the International Atomic Energy Agency and (c) the Intelligence and Security Committee.

Jack Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave her on 17 November 2004, Official Report, column 1552W.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what material breaches of obligations under United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 (2002) were perpetrated by the then Government of Iraq between 8 November 2002 and 17 March 2003.

Bill Rammell: United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 determined that Iraq had been and remained in material breach of resolution 687 because it had failed to cooperate with United Nations inspectors and the International Atomic Energy Agency and had not fully complied with its obligations to disarm under that resolution. The Security Council gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" and decided that if Iraq failed at any time to comply with and cooperate fully in the implementation of resolution 1441, that would constitute a further material breach. Iraq failed to comply and cooperate and as such was in material breach at the time of resolution 1441 and continued to be so in the period thereafter.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will post on his Department's website, and place in the Library, a record of the negotiations of United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 (2002) on Iraq.

Bill Rammell: The vast majority of the negotiations on United Nations Security Council resolution 1441 were carried out in closed Security Council sessions, of which there are no publicly available minutes. Details of the public meetings that the Security Council held on Iraq/Kuwait at that time are available on the UN's website at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/scact2002.htm
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (www.fco.gov.uk), the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York (www.ukun.org) and other British embassies and High Commissions have information on their websites on UN activities and issues.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of those of his Department's legal advisers who were employed in March 2003 provided the judgment that it would be (a) lawful and (b) not lawful to take military action against Iraq.

Jack Straw: It is well known that the Attorney-General provided the Government with their legal advice on the use of force in Iraq. Where Foreign and Commonwealth Office legal advisers provide advice they do so in confidence.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Mrs. Elizabeth Wilmshurst was consulted in advance of the decision to publish on 23 March her letter of resignation from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office civil service with a part retracted in respect of her stated judgment on the legality of military action against Iraq.

Jack Straw: Ms Wilmshurst was informed in advance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's intention to disclose most of her minute of 18 March 2003 in response to a number of requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

Middle East

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) events and (b) meetings are planned concerning middle east reform during the UK presidency of the G8.

Bill Rammell: We intend to take forward during the UK's G8 presidency implementation of the G8 Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative agreed last year at Sea Island. This will include meetings of G8 and regional Foreign, Finance and Education Ministers. We also intend to support civil society and business contributions to regional reform through their participation in ministerial meetings and through sponsorship of events that bring G8 and regional civil society groups together to address various aspects of reform.

Middle East

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Saudi Arabia, (b) Jordan, (c) Egypt, (d) Syria and (e) Lebanon regarding political reform in the middle east.

Bill Rammell: We support the emerging momentum for change and modernisation that is developing in the middle east region. Both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my right hon. and noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the middle east, have over the past year encouraged political reform in the middle east both on a bilateral basis with the countries identified by my hon. Friend and in the context of EU and G8 meetings with the region.

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli Government regarding the Israeli and Palestinian peace process.

Bill Rammell: We hold regular discussions with Israeli Government representatives at all levels. My right hon. and Noble friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office visited Israel, 2–3 March, to brief the Israeli Government on the outcome of the London meeting. Baroness Symons met Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. On 23 March, Baroness Symons met Israeli ambassador Zvi Heifetz in London, to discuss the issue of settlement expansion. I am meeting ambassador Heifetz on 6 April and will raise this again during that meeting.

Nepal

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with (a) the government and (b) civil society organisations in Nepal on restoring elected government; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We have had several discussions with the Government of Nepal following the King's takeover of power on 1 February, in which we have expressed our concerns about the dismissal of the elected government and urged them to make moves towards the restoration of representative democracy. I raised our concerns with the Nepalese ambassador immediately after the King's takeover. Our ambassador in Kathmandu raised these concerns with the King and, along with EU partners, with the foreign Minister.
	Through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool and other programmes we continue to support and engage with civil society organisations in Nepal in our efforts towards restoring democracy. We remain in close contact with the Nepalese authorities, NGOs and international partners in our efforts to secure a peaceful, durable and democratic resolution to the conflict in Nepal.

Nepal

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations (a) he, (b) his Department and (c) representatives of the UK in Kathmandu have received concerning the detention of (i) Mr. Bishnu Nisthuri, General Secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, (ii) Mr. Narayan Adhikari, Rashtriya Samachar Samiti, Chitwan, (iii) Mr. Basanta Prajuli, Daily Gorkhapatra, Chitwan, (iv) Mr. D. R. Panta, Kantipur correspondent in Dadeldhura, (v) Mr. Khem Bhandari, editor, Anhiyan, Mahendranagar and (vi) Mr. Sujeev Bajracharya, editor, City Post Sandhyakalin, Kathmandu; what inquiries (A) his Department and (B) representatives of the UK in Kathmandu have made into the whereabouts of each; what discussions (1) he, (2) members of his Department and (3) representatives of the UK have had with members and representatives of the government of Nepal concerning (y) the detention of the journalists and (z) the government of Nepal's policy on freedom of the press; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: We have received many representations about the situation in Nepal and the detention of journalists and others since the King's takeover of power on 1 February. However, we are not aware of having received any specific representations or letters concerning any of the above named individuals.
	Since the King took power in Nepal many hundreds of political activists, have been detained as well as a number of students, journalists, human rights defenders and trade unionists. I have publicly raised our concerns about the Kings actions, and our Ambassador in Kathmandu has called on the King directly to release all political prisoners detained under the emergency regulations.
	Through local inquiries, our Embassy in Kathmandu has established the following details about the individuals in question:
	Bishnu Nisthuri—Detained on 4 February and released on 25 February
	Narayan Adhikari—Detained on 13 February from Chitwanin and is still in detention
	Basanta Parajuli—Detained on 1 February from Pokhara and is still in detention
	D. R. Panta—detained on 15 February and is still in detention
	Khem Bhandari—detained 1 February from Mahendranagar and is believed to be still detained
	Sujeev Bajracharya—detained on 16 February and is believed to be still detained.
	The UK remains committed to restoring the institutions of democracy, including freedom of the press, and is making efforts to support the media to function independently and without interference in Nepal.

Palestinian Authority

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest assessment is of progress made by the Palestinian Authority in reform of its security apparatus.

Bill Rammell: Following the pledges made at Sharm el Sheikh on 8 February and the London Meeting on 1 March, the Palestinian leadership has made progress with security reform, but the situation remains fragile.
	Both Israelis and Palestinians agree that security co-operation has improved sharply, with local and national commanders meeting frequently. The Israel Defence Forces credit the Palestinian Authority (PA) with closing a number of smuggling tunnels in Gaza, and for making real efforts against rocket attacks. The handover of West Bank cities, as agreed at Sharm el Sheikh, is progressing. Jericho was handed over to the PA on 16 March and Tulkarem on 21 March. On 17 March President Abbas reached an agreement with 12 Palestinian militant groups to extend the current period of calm until the end of 2005.
	The PA still has a great deal to do. The agenda for security reform was set out in the conclusions of the London Meeting on 1 March. The United States is leading in the efforts to assist the PA in achieving its goals. General Ward (regional security co-ordinator) has established his office and is already working with Palestinian officials. We will continue to work to ensure that this reform programme is successful in the longer term.

Sierra Leone

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effects of fuel shortages in Sierra Leone on the security situation.

Chris Mullin: The continued fuel shortage in Sierra Leone is worrying. On its own, we do not judge it to be a major security threat. But in the longer term we are concerned about its potential impact on the daily lives of ordinary Sierra Leoneans, many of whom are already severely disadvantaged.

Somalia (UN Peacekeepers)

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of deploying (a) Ugandan and (b) Sudanese peacekeepers in Somalia.

Chris Mullin: Although plans for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) sponsored Peace Support Operation have yet to be finalised, we are pleased that IGAD's proposals take account of Somali sensitivities over the involvement of neighbouring states. We await further information about the final decisions.

Sri Lanka

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government have provided to the Government of Sri Lanka in relation to peace talks and negotiations with the Tamil Tigers.

Douglas Alexander: We are encouraged that the ceasefire between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remains in place three years after it was signed. But we are concerned that there have been no direct peace talks since April 2003. We fully support the work of Norway as facilitators of the peace process. We work closely with other international partners to encourage all parties to maintain the ceasefire and to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. The British Government have not provided any assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka directly in relation to peace talks with the LTTE. We do support wider peace-building efforts in Sri Lanka, including through projects in areas such as access to justice and human security, and by working with other donors to encourage the development of an environment supportive of a sustainable peace process.

Sudan

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has discussed with (a) Government colleagues and (b) international counterparts providing UK police officers for civilian protection in Darfur.

Chris Mullin: We support the African Union (AU) civilian police mission in Darfur. Around 200 police officers are currently deployed, with more expected soon. We have provided more than £14 million and loaned technical expertise to the AU mission. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's chief police advisor helped the AU in Addis Ababa to develop the plan for the policing mission. There are currently no plans to deploy UK police officers for civilian protection in Darfur and the AU has not requested any.

Syria/Lebanon

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Syria regarding the presence of its intelligence apparatus in Lebanon.

Bill Rammell: Through our embassy in Damascus we have made several representations to the Syrian Government regarding the need for a complete and early withdrawal of all Syrian troops and intelligence personnel from Lebanon. My right hon. and noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, made the same points when she saw the Syrian ambassador on 7 March.

Terrorism

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the Governments which his Department assesses as (a) sponsoring and (b) having links with terrorist organisations, indicating in each case the (i) nature and (ii) effectiveness of representations made to end these activities.

Denis MacShane: The British Government do not compile lists of state sponsors of terrorism.
	We have serious concerns about the approach of the Iranian and the Syrian Governments to terrorism. We have pressed both countries to co-operate fully with international efforts to combat terrorism and not to support groups trying to undermine peace in the middle east by violent means.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised these concerns with the Syrian Foreign Minister in October 2004, and with the Secretary General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rouhani, in December 2004. Most latterly, my right hon. and noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, reiterated our concerns to the Syrian ambassador on 7 March. Senior officials have also raised it with their Syrian and Iranian interlocutors.

Ukraine

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance has been offered to the Government of Ukraine as part of his Department's counter-proliferation strategy and cooperative threat reduction programme (a) to secure the existing Ukraine military rocket programme and (b) to assess whether cruise missiles missing from the Ukraine missile inventory can be recovered.

Denis MacShane: We are in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities on a range of counter-proliferation matters including in relation to missiles. We shall continue as part of this process to evaluate whether the UK could provide relevant assistance to Ukraine in the context of cooperative threat reduction.

UN Security Council

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of India being granted permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

Bill Rammell: The UK has long supported the expansion of the UN Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent seats. We want it to become more inclusive of the international community it represents. Indian membership of the Security Council will help achieve this goal.
	We therefore support India's bid and have done so with cross party support. It is the obvious candidate for membership from its regional grouping, considering its contribution to UN assessed budgets, participation in peace operations, voluntary contributions to UN activities in security and development, and general support for the UN's objectives and mandates.

Vienna Convention

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made to the United States regarding its decision to withdraw from the Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The UK Government have not made representations to the United States following its decision to withdraw from the Optional Protocol to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. We note that the US Government has stated that it will continue to fulfil its obligations under the Convention and that it remains committed to its principles and provisions. Consular relations between the UK and the United States are principally governed by the 1951 UK-US Bilateral Consular Convention.

War Criminals

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact the lawsuit brought in the federal court of Alexandria (VA) against Mohamed Ali Samatar and Yusuf Abdi Ali in November 2004 (a) has had and (b) will have on the prosecution of alleged war criminals resident in the US; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: This is a private matter for those involved. The UK strongly believes there should be no impunity for the most serious international crimes, including war crimes.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders (North Yorkshire)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in North Yorkshire in 2003–04; how many were breached; and how many of those breached were prosecuted in courts.

Hazel Blears: The number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued in North Yorkshire, at all courts, as notified to the Home Office, from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 is seven.
	ASBO breach data are currently available up to 31 December 2003 only. Six ASBOs were issued in North Yorkshire from 1 April 2003 to 31 December 2003. Of these, one person breached their ASBO during the period.

Askham Grange Prison

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  for what reason one of the mother and baby units at HMP Askham Grange is to be closed; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many mothers with babies have been moved to establishments (a) closer to and (b) further from, their homes following the closure of the Mother and Baby Unit at HMP Askham Grange; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what financial savings will be made from the mothballing or closure of the Mother and Baby Unit at HMP Askham Grange; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many mothers have been refused places on mother and baby units due to lack of availability of places in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  how many places are available in each mother and baby unit within prison establishments; and what the occupancy levels of each are.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 8 March 2005
	The demand for mother and baby places at Askham Grange has declined over the last 12 months. A decision was therefore made to reduce the number of mother and baby places available at that establishment. The change was carried out through natural reductions without the need to relocate mothers and babies. The decision was taken in order to match supply more closely to demand and provide more flexible use of existing accommodation. It was not taken to achieve savings and no estimate has been made of any reduction in mother and baby unit costs.
	The decision to reduce capacity at Askham Grange was taken as part of a wider review of all mother and baby places. No women have been refused admission because of lack of capacity in the units. The new capacities and occupancy figures at 14 March 2005 are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Prison  Places Occupancy at 14 March 2005 
		
		
			 Askham Grange, north Yorkshire 10 7 
			 Holloway, London 13 13 
			 New Hall, west Yorkshire 9 6 
			 Styal, Cheshire 12 9 
			 Eastwood Park, Gloucestershire 12 8 
			 Bronzefield, London 12 7 
			 Peterborough (unit opening April 2005) 12 0 
			 Total 79 50

Asylum and Immigration

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for indefinite leave to remain in the UK are being considered by his Department; and how many of these have been outstanding for (a) one month or less, (b) one month to three months, (c) three months to one year and (d) more than one year.

Des Browne: holding answer 4 April 2005
	As of 29 March 2005, there were 19,679 indefinite leave to remain cases outstanding for consideration by the immigration and nationality directorate general group in Croydon, Sheffield and the public inquiry offices. Of these, 3,066 have been outstanding for less than 30 days; 5,324 cases outstanding from one month up to three months; 10,264 cases outstanding from three months up to one year; and 1,025 cases outstanding for one year or more.

Child Pornography

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests the UK Government have made to non-EU countries requesting that child pornography websites be removed from the internet; and on what legal basis.

Paul Goggins: No such requests have been made by the Home Office. Where investigation by a UK law enforcement agency identifies a child abuse image being hosted in another jurisdiction, it will seek to notify the appropriate authority in that country of its presence so that they can seek its removal and take further appropriate action. A similar process is also undertaken by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). The IWF was formed in 1996 following an agreement between the Government, police and the internet service provider industry that a partnership approach was needed to tackle the distribution of child abuse images online. The IWF operate the only authorised hotline in the UK for the public to report their inadvertent exposure to illegal content on the internet. The hotline provides internet users with a means of reporting potentially illegal content that are located on websites that specifically contain images of child abuse (hosted anywhere in the world), criminally obscene content (hosted in the UK) or criminally racist content (hosted in the UK). As a result of these arrangements less than one per cent. of potentially illegal content is apparently hosted in the UK. Figures for the number of instances on which such requests have been made to other jurisdictions by UK law enforcement are not collated. The legal basis for removing such sites will be dependent on the legislation in place in the particular country in question.
	More generally, the Government continues to talk with our international partners about further measures which can be taken to combat the abuse of children and remove such images wherever they are hosted. The G8 countries have adopted a strategy on protecting children from sexual exploitation on the internet. As part of this strategy the UK is leading the development of an international child image database, housed at Interpol which aims to act as a global repository of images of child abuse contributing to the identification of victims and offenders and analysis of images.
	The UK also leads in promoting co-operation among law enforcement agencies through the creation, by the National Crime Squad in 2003, of the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT). This is an international alliance of law enforcement agencies delivering innovative crime prevention and crime reduction initiatives to deter and prevent individuals from committing child abuse on-line offences. The VGT is engaged in a number of initiatives which compliment and support the work of existing law enforcement agencies. These include Operation Pin, a website purporting to host child abuse images but which in fact directs those searching for child abuse images to a law enforcement page. The VGT have also developed an international website (www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com) which was launched on 26 January 2005. This acts as a gateway to a wide range of information on how to use the internet safely and links to a range of support agencies around the world that advise and support parents, children and victims of abuse.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter dated 2 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Waheeda Ahmed.

Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 1 April 2005.

Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of inmates in prisons in England and Wales were serving sentences for drug-related convictions in each year since 1975; and what the cost was of accommodating the inmates.

Paul Goggins: The population in prison establishments in England and Wales under an immediate custodial sentence for drug offences as a percentage of the total population under an immediate custodial sentence, in each year since 1976, is provided in the table. Information is not available for 1975.
	The Prison Service does not collect data relating to the costs of keeping prisoners in custody by offence type, nor does it retain information readily to hand on costs as far back as 1975. However the overall cost per prisoner for 2003–04 was £25,718 in public sector prisons and £25,377 in contracted out prisons.
	These figures exclude headquarters overheads, including the cost of capital on all Prison Service land and buildings plus the cost of depreciation on buildings.
	Information for Scotland and Northern Ireland would be a matter for my colleagues at the Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Office.

HMP/YOI Parc

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an assessment of the way in which the transitional support scheme is working at HMP and YOI Parc.

Paul Goggins: An assessment has been undertaken of the effectiveness of the transitional support scheme in Wales. A report is expected at the end of May 2005.

Home Detention Curfew

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes have been committed by prisoners released under the Home Detention Curfew in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The table sets out the number of cautions, convictions and pending prosecutions for offences committed while offenders were subject to the Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme over the past five calendar years, as notified to the Home Office by 14 March 2005. The table also gives the numbers of prisoners placed on to the scheme for each of the five years.
	It is always a matter of concern when any prisoner who is placed on Home Detention Curfew commits an offence. However, HDC has been successful in providing prisoners with a smoother and more effective re-integration back into the community. The scheme helps prisoners resume employment or training at an earlier stage and so support themselves and their families.
	Since the scheme began in January 1999, over 100,000 people have been released on HOC and 85 per cent. of those have successfully completed the curfew period without any problems at all.
	
		
			  Number of prisoners placed on scheme(6) Number of offences Number of offenders 
		
		
			 2000 15,514 371 231 
			 2001 13,646 418 218 
			 2002 20,452 699 395 
			 2003 21,223 2,132 1,193 
			 2004 19,340 947 556 
		
	
	(6) These statistics are based on information recorded on the central Prison Service IT system. Further update and amendments may be made to records on this system in future resulting in revised figures. Figures include those sentenced to three months to less than 12 months.

Kidnapping

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many kidnappings there have been in (a) the Metropolitan, (b) Thames Valley and (c) Surrey police authority area in each of the last three years.

Hazel Blears: The available information relates to recorded offences of kidnapping and is given in the table.
	
		
			 Police force 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Metropolitan 1,094 1,144 1,012 
			 Thames Valley 68 82 64 
			 Surrey 24 31 48

Murders (Essex)

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been murdered in each year since 1997 in (a) Southend and (b) Essex.

Hazel Blears: Police statistics for the number of homicides include murders, manslaughters and infanticides that come to the attention of the police. Deaths that are not initially believed to be suspicious but are later re-categorised are counted in the year in which they have been recorded as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place.
	The following table shows available information relating to the Southend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for 2001–02 to 2003–04 and homicide figures recorded by Essex police from 1997 to 2003–04.
	
		
			  Number of homicides 
			  Southend Essex 
		
		
			 1997 — 16 
			 1998–99 — 14 
			 1999–2000 — 20 
			 2000–01 — 15 
			 2001–02 5 24 
			 2002–03 6 22 
			 2003–04 2 12

National Asylum Support Service

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the unit cost incurred by the National Asylum Support Service in supporting a single adult was in each of the past five years for which figures are available; and what the unit cost for each local authority was in the same period.

Des Browne: holding answer 23 March 2005
	The information is not available in the precise format requested. The approximate costs incurred by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to support a single adult asylum in each of the last five years are shown in the table.
	Table 1 shows the costs for a single adult asylum seeker provided with financial assistance support only.
	
		Table 1: Single adult asylum seekers supported by NASS (subsistence only) -- Costs (£)
		
			  Age 18–24 Age 25 and over 
		
		
			 2000–01 28.95 36.54 
			 2001–02 28.95 36.54 
			 2002–03 29.89 37.77 
			 2003–04 30.28 38.26 
			 2004–05 30.84 38.96 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the costs for a single asylum seeker provided with both accommodation and financial support directly by NASS and those supported by local authorities under the interim scheme. The ranges represent the differing costs between local authorities under the interim scheme and the varying cost of accommodation for those supported directly by NASS.
	
		Table 2 -- Costs (£)
		
			  Single adult asylum seekers supported under the interim scheme  Single adult asylum seekers supported by NASS 
		
		
			 2000–01 140.00 115.95–230.69 
			 2001–02 140.00–160.00 117.43–212.79 
			 2002–03 52.26–280.89 119.87–217.12 
			 2003–04 54.05–290.48 121.27–223.39 
			 2004–05 55.32–297.33 113.09–228.84 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Excluded from these costs is the small number of cases supported under the disbenefited arrangements and also those supported under section 4.
	2. Costs include VAT where appropriate.

Operation Paladin Child

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to address the issues raised by Operation Paladin Child.

Des Browne: holding answer 5 April 2005
	Since publication of the report we have made significant progress. In particular the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND) Children's Taskforce is tackling a number of the recommendations. These include:
	The provision of guidance to staff on identifying and dealing with children in need.
	Developing processes for working with other agencies on child protection issues
	The provision of specialist training for IND staff
	Identifying ways to improve information received from abroad
	Child Protection Officers are now based at Heathrow airport and both Child Protection Officers and Social Service staff are based at the Croydon Asylum Screening Unit to ensure a more joined up approach. The UK Immigration Service with the Department for Transport (DfT) is also setting up a voluntary code of practice to be followed by airlines when carrying children who are either unaccompanied or travelling with an adult who is not a family member.

Paedophiles

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the possible arrival in the UK of paedophiles from overseas who have not been convicted of any offences under UK jurisdiction; and what measures he is able to take to protect the public in such cases.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives information that an individual with a conviction for a serious sexual offence will be travelling to the UK then the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) will be informed. NCIS may also receive information directly from the foreign authorities through Interpol. Where it is judged to be appropriate, NCIS will then liaise both with appropriate police forces and ports of entry in order to arrange a meeting with the offender on his arrival.
	The notification order, introduced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, is a civil preventative order designed to ensure that offenders who receive convictions or cautions for sexual offences overseas can be made to sign on the sex offenders register while they are in the UK. Application for such an order is made by the police to a magistrates court. If an offender fails to comply with the registration requirements then he commits a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
	The 2003 Act also provides for sexual offences prevention orders (SOPO). SOPOs are made on application from the police to a magistrates court and impose prohibitions on a sexual or violent offender who poses a risk of serious sexual harm. They also require the offender to sign on the sex offenders register. When making a SOPO courts set such prohibitions as they consider necessary. For example, an offender could be prohibited from being alone with children under 16 and/or from being within a certain distance of a school, a playground and/or a swimming baths etc. If an offender breaches a SOPO then he commits a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

Police

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in Nottinghamshire constabulary in (a) 2000 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: As at 31 March 2000, there were 2,204 full-time equivalent officers in Nottinghamshire. On 30 September 2004 the force had 2,526 officers—a record number. This represents an increase of 14.6 per cent. or an additional 322 officers.

Police

Roger Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in the number of full-time police officers in Wimbledon has been since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available. Statistics on the number of full-time equivalent officers are only available for London boroughs and only from 2003 onwards.

Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2005, Official Report, column 1694W, on police vehicles, how many collisions on public roads in Essex in which police vehicles were involved were the fault of the police vehicle in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Information is not collected centrally on the causes of collisions involving police vehicles on public roads.

Prevention of Terrorism Act

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the (a) police and (b) security services first requested that British citizens should be subject to control orders on the lines of those included in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 17 March 2005
	In February 2004 the Government published a discussion paper ("Reconciling Security and Liberty in an Open Society") responding to the Newton report which recommended, among other things, that an alternative—capable of general application to British citizens as well as foreign nationals—be found to the part 4 powers of the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCS).
	Consideration of an alternative was given further impetus by the Lords' ruling in December 2004 that section 23 of the ATCS Act was incompatible with articles 5 and 14 of the convention on the grounds that the provisions were discriminatory and therefore disproportionate.
	The control order provisions contained in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 were developed in consultation with the security service and police, who have confirmed that measures which could be more specifically tailored to the threat posed by particular individuals, irrespective of nationality, would be a valuable tool in countering terrorist related activity.

Prisons

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's policy is on sourcing pork, bacon and ham bearing the British Pig Executive's Quality Standard Mark in prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service procures food using contracts awarded in accordance with European Union procurement regulations and on a best value for money basis, which takes account of product quality, cost and availability. The EU regulations are designed to support fair and open competition allowing UK suppliers to compete for business with other EU members.
	The Prison Service is working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the sustainable food procurement initiative, which is part of the Government's strategy for sustainable farming and food. This is intended to encourage the public sector to procure food in a manner that promotes sustainable development and does not discriminate against local and UK suppliers.
	All products supplied to the Prison Service must comply with current and subsequent relevant UK and EU legislation, regulations and directives. Suppliers are required to provide products that are sourced in compliance with EU regulations and from assured providers under animal welfare conditions that are compatible with the UK animal welfare regulations.

Prisons

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been made in each of the last three years by inmates to the board of visitors of prisons and young offender institutions; and what the most common reasons for such applications were.

Paul Goggins: This information is not held centrally.

Prisons

Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many compassionate licences HMP Dovegate has issued since it opened; and what the average number for non-private prisons is for the same period.

Paul Goggins: Since Her Majesty's Prison Dovegate opened in July 2001, two prisoners have been granted release on compassionate licence.
	The average number of releases on compassionate licence for all public sector prisons over the same period was 314. This covers prisons of all security categories, including open prisons.
	Her Majesty's Prison Dovegate is a Category B training prison. The average number of releases on compassionate licence for Category B establishments in the public sector is eight.

Probation Service

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which functions of the probation service in England and Wales will be the subject of (a) contestability and (b) private tendering during (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 15 December 2004
	I am currently considering how best to introduce contestability within the probation service in England and Wales and will make an announcement in due course.
	Contestability opens up competition to all sectors—public, private and voluntary and community. Private tendering will continue to be used by the probation service where appropriate, including for example technical and IT services, but the norm under contestability will be for all sectors to be invited to bid for the delivery of services for offenders.

Sentencing Policy

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the public's attitude to prison and its alternatives;
	(2)  if he will institute a major public education campaign about community penalties;
	(3)  if his Department will establish a media marketing campaign to promote alternatives to prison;
	(4)  how his Department promotes alternatives to prison; and if he will make a statement on the value of those alternatives.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office conducts an assessment of public attitudes to prison and its alternatives through its own research, including the British Crime Survey, as well as through the consideration of other research and representations.
	While prison is the right place for serious and dangerous offenders, community sentences can be an effective alternative to short-term imprisonment for less serious offenders.
	We have made community sentences both tough and demanding while providing the opportunity for offenders to pay something back directly to the community.
	There is a national visibility scheme in place to identify community work done by offenders. The 'Clean-Up Week' campaign, launched on 14 March, involved thousands of people in deciding which local projects should be undertaken by offenders. These included cleaning up prominent eyesores and enhancing the local environment as part of their community sentence.
	Publicity about the new sentences introduced this month under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides an opportunity for further information to be given to the public about the range of sentences available to the court and the need to target them effectively so as to reduce reoffending, protect the public and increase public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether departmental special advisers have attended meetings with external (a) bodies and (b) individuals, in their official capacity and without Ministers, since May 1997.

Charles Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 13 December 2004, Official Report, column 791W, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain).

Special Constables

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the special constabulary force strength of each constabulary was in each of the last 30 years; what plans he has to increase special constabulary force strength; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: Figures on the strength of the Special Constabulary have been collected by the Home Office since 1995. They are given in the table.
	Research suggests that the main reason for the fall in numbers is external commitments, with ineffective management and deployment also contributing. A number of specials leave to join as regular officers so there is no overall loss to the policing family. The Government are working with stakeholders (particularly the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO)) on range of measures to improve Specials' recruitment, management and deployment, including the implementation of Home Office/ACPO Good Practice Guidance designed to help forces attract and hold on to Specials, ensuring their time and skills are properly valued and used to best effect.
	A survey of forces recently conducted by ACPO reveals that at 31 January 2005 the number of specials had increased to 12,100 with a further 2,500 applications in the system.
	
		
			  As at March: 
			  1995 1996 11997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 651 688 759 621 547 459 400 364 345 305 
			 Bedfordshire 189 189 182 186 154 151 115 118 98 146 
			 Cambridgeshire 279 275 303 320 310 274 218 207 189 193 
			 Cheshire 321 274 475 459 407 350 290 191 161 173 
			 Cleveland 83 195 160 164 126 128 93 85 102 85 
			 Cumbria 212 201 189 198 204 176 156 102 94 77 
			 Derbyshire 241 413 428 380 317 282 275 260 249 301 
			 Devon and Cornwall 434 1,102 1,148 1,024 918 870 804 689 645 602 
			 Dorset 1,142 254 289 315 305 298 267 253 214 210 
			 Durham 221 187 184 144 159 157 146 134 94 81 
			 Essex 200 608 634 638 544 483 445 381 371 349 
			 Gloucestershire 302 330 297 276 233 206 183 154 157 155 
			 Greater Manchester 674 746 685 598 523 457 367 338 340 345 
			 Hampshire 320 564 621 698 760 615 462 444 373 346 
			 Hertfordshire 768 315 297 306 238 216 198 206 193 206 
			 Humberside 126 391 340 324 269 246 212 207 157 209 
			 Kent 598 555 589 592 526 436 392 327 286 341 
			 Lancashire 320 553 483 489 449 382 360 363 351 336 
			 Leicestershire 427 360 415 406 316 247 162 143 149 159 
			 Lincolnshire 569 299 271 260 216 195 166 155 139 156 
			 London, City of 608 77 86 76 64 56 43 36 42 54 
			 Merseyside 356 333 401 419 458 476 541 468 503 371 
			 Metropolitan police 322 1850 1714 1282 1138 758 774 680 692 742 
			 Norfolk 384 319 402 337 336 285 259 244 239 241 
			 Northamptonshire 1,550 289 316 288 230 199 188 177 189 197 
			 Northumbria 345 471 533 400 342 332 300 256 221 169 
			 North Yorkshire 288 360 362 358 276 217 182 185 177 160 
			 Nottinghamshire 381 537 620 558 461 411 335 341 261 295 
			 South Yorkshire 303 381 308 281 246 205 188 206 204 200 
			 Staffordshire 506 702 685 595 468 482 402 384 391 376 
			 Suffolk 552 407 379 397 420 391 349 308 275 266 
			 Surrey 477 260 297 235 224 175 149 187 212 255 
			 Sussex 452 511 472 442 393 352 306 306 303 181 
			 Thames Valley 725 744 656 609 569 472 418 356 369 341 
			 Warwickshire 409 340 381 345 261 260 221 209 190 169 
			 West Mercia 238 613 582 512 515 476 399 339 309 280 
			 West Midlands 527 897 945 889 731 680 617 598 637 715 
			 West Yorkshire 679 709 690 589 559 484 415 349 374 403 
			 Wiltshire 352 233 154 149 184 173 152 147 154 169 
			 Dyfed-Powys 582 314 283 254 237 202 191 157 152 151 
			 Gwent 818 136 157 119 113 119 137 142 130 136 
			 North Wales 777 332 341 358 400 247 207 125 133 124 
			 South Wales 318 461 361 366 338 267 254 277 173 218 
			 Total all forces 20,026 19,775 19,874 18,256 16,484 14,347 12,738 11,598 11,037 10,988 
		
	
	(7) Total strength breakdown has been estimated for Dorset, Essex, Hampshire, Metropolitan police and West Yorkshire

TRANSPORT

Air Passengers (Heathrow)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers arriving at Heathrow airport by air between (a) 04.00 and 05.59 and (b) 06.00 and 06.29 hours were transfer and transit passengers in the last period for which figures are available.

Charlotte Atkins: The number of transit passengers arriving at Heathrow airport between 04.00–05.59 and 06.00–06.29 hours in 2004 were 434 and 3,292 respectively. In total, there were 67,343,000 passengers at Heathrow airport in 2004. Overall around 35 per cent. of passengers at Heathrow are transfer passengers. No reliable data are available on the time of arrival and departure of transfer passengers.

Air Passengers (Heathrow)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers arrived at Heathrow by air between 04.00 and 06.59 hours in the last period for which figures are available.

Charlotte Atkins: 5,718,000 passengers arrived at Heathrow by air between 04.00 and 06.59 hours in 2004, compared with 67,343,000 terminal and transit passengers overall in 2004.

Air Passengers (Heathrow)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers departed from Heathrow by air between 07.00 and 07.59 hours in the last period for which figures are available; and how many were transfer and transit passengers.

Charlotte Atkins: 1,370,000 passengers departed from Heathrow by air between 07.00 and 07.59 hours in 2004. Of these, 207 were transit passengers, resulting from a single diverted flight. There were 67,343,000 passengers at Heathrow airport in 2004. No reliable data are available on the time of arrival and departure of transfer flights, but overall 35 per cent. of passengers at Heathrow airport in 2004 were transfer passengers.

Air Passengers (Heathrow)

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers (a) departed from and (b) arrived at Heathrow by air between 06.00 and 06.59 hours in the last period for which figures are available; and how many were transfer and transit passengers.

Charlotte Atkins: 965,000 passengers departed from Heathrow by air between 06.00 and 06.59 hours in 2004 and 2,556,000 passengers arrived. During this period, 34,000 transit passengers arrived and no transit passengers departed. There were 67,343,000 passengers at Heathrow airport overall in 2004. 35 per cent. of all passengers at Heathrow in 2004 were transfer passengers. No reliable data are available on the time of arrival and departure of passengers on transfer flights.

Civil Servants (Relocation)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants in his Department have (a) been relocated and (b) been agreed for relocation in the last 12 months; and to which areas of the United Kingdom.

Tony McNulty: DfT are working on the implementation of the original proposals made on Lyons relocation. These relate to civil service posts not individual civil servants. The proposals have now been developed further. Our current position is that 61 posts have been identified with 25 going to Derby, 23 to Hastings, three to Swansea and the rest to other locations outside London and the South East.

Deregulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many regulations have been repealed by his Department since 1 October 2004.

Tony McNulty: Since 1 October 2004 six general statutory instruments for which the Department for Transport has responsibility have been repealed in their entirety. In addition, it is likely that numerous instruments have been partially repealed but details could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dishforth-Barton Road Upgrade

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the date is for the commencement of the works to upgrade the Dishforth-Barton road to motorway status; and what the estimated duration of the works is.

David Jamieson: The Al Dishforth to Barton Improvement is scheduled to start construction in April 2008, subject to the completion of statutory procedures and the availability of funds. Construction works are programmed for a period of three years.

Dishforth-Barton Road Upgrade

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding has been proposed for the upgrading of the A1 between Dishforth and Barton to motorway status; and from which budget the costs of the work will be met.

David Jamieson: The scheme is included within the Targeted Programme of Improvements with an approved budget of £325 million.

EU Measures (Repeals)

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many EU (a) regulations and (b) directives covering matters within the responsibility of his Department have been repealed since 1 April 2004.

Tony McNulty: The Department does not hold central records of the number of EU legislation that has been repealed. The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Commission publishes figures for European legislation repealed or expired in its annual general reports on the activities of the European Union, the latest figures published are for 2003.

Helicopter Movements (Sutton)

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many helicopter movements there were in the airspace above the London Borough of Sutton in each year since 2001.

Tony McNulty: This information is held by National Air Traffic Services Ltd. (NATS) and I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.

Roadside Advertising

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 346W, on roadside advertising, 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the methodology used to evaluate whether roadside advertisements are a cause of road accidents;
	(2)  whether (a) car drivers, (b) bus drivers and (c) drivers of heavy goods vehicles were consulted as part of the research into whether roadside advertisements contributed to road accidents;
	(3)  if he will commission a full study into the potential for distraction by temporary wheeled billboards placed next to motorways.

David Jamieson: Studies have been carried out into the effect of the presence of roadside advertisements and other potential distractions to road accidents. It is, however, difficult to derive a direct causal relationship because accidents are often the result of several factors. Studies have also monitored the duration of drivers' eye movements from the road to roadside distractions, including signs, which provides an indicator of accident potential. I am not aware of any specific consultation with drivers that has been undertaken as part of the research. I do not propose to commission a study on the potential for distraction of temporary wheeled billboards placed next to motorways. It is for local planning authorities to use their enforcement powers to remove unlawfully displayed advertisements.

DEFENCE

Airfield Closures

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to close airfields; what assessment he has made of the impact of reductions in the number of airfields on Air Training Corps gliding activities; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: We have announced that the airfield at RAF Coltishall will close in 2006 and the airfield at RAF Lyneham will close when the Hercules aircraft based there transfer to RAF Brize Norton. There is no Air Training Corps gliding activity at either of the above airfields.
	Additionally, RAF Sealand is scheduled to close in 2006. The relocation of 631 Voluntary Gliding School is under consideration and full account will be taken of the impact on Air Training Corps gliding activity.

Armed Forces Housing

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the implications applying the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Decent Homes Standard to the homes of members of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 112W.

Army Complaints Procedure

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedural time limits apply for the issue of a decision by the Army Board in respect of a complaint under Army redress procedures relating to (a) sexual harassment, (b) racial harassment, (c) parental leave directive, (d) pay and (e) religion.

Ivor Caplin: There are no absolute time limits on the processing of redress of complaints by the Army Board.

Black Watch

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he will write to the hon. Member for Perth with the information on (a) fines and (b) pay levels for soldiers of 1st Battalion Black Watch, as indicated in the answer of 18 November 2004, Official Report, column 1809W;
	(2)  when he will write to the hon. Member for Perth with information on (a) fines and (b) pay levels for soldiers of 1st Battalion Black Watch, as indicated in the answer of 18 November 2004, Official Report, column 1809W.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 7 February 2005
	I replied to the hon. Member on 30 January and 28 February 2005, copies of the letters are available in the Library of the House.

DARA, Fixed Wing St. Athan

John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether DARA, Fixed Wing St. Athan, have confirmed their intention to participate in the competitive tender process to become a manpower service provider to BAE Systems for the (a) Tornado CMU and (b) Harrier Jump programmes.

Adam Ingram: DARA will not participate in the tender process to become a manpower service provider to BAE Systems for either the Tornado CMU or Harrier Jump programmes.

Departmental Employees

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of civilian employees, including civil servants employed by his Department, has been in each year since 1998.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The information requested is in the following table:
	
		Ministry of Defence—Average strength 1998 to 2004
		
			 Full time equivalent 
			  Total civil servants Locally engaged civilians Total 
		
		
			 1998 110,560 14,960 125,510 
			 1999 108,280 14,770 123,050 
			 2000 106,450 14,740 121,190 
			 2001(8) 100,040 13,290 113,330 
			 2002 95,260 14,120 109,370 
			 2003 92,970 13,840 106,820 
			 2004 93,220 15,430 108,650 
		
	
	(8) In 2001 the QinetiQ portion of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (8,000) was established as a private company.
	Note:
	Figures calculated using a 13-month average.

Departmental Spending (Scotland)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much of its personnel budget for financial years (a) 2001–02, (b) 2000–01, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 1998–99 and (e) 1997–98 the Defence Analytical Services Agency spent in Scotland in (i) monetary terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total personnel budget for that year; how many personnel were employed in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Both civilian and service personnel data by agency are collated annually at 1 April and presented in table 2.6 of UK Defence Statistics, a copy of which is held in the Library of the House. Further information on personnel figures is available on the DASA website at www.dasa.mod.uk.

Departmental Staff

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the staff employed by his Department have a declared disability.

Ivor Caplin: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. These include data on the number of staff who have a declared disability.
	The latest information at April 2004 is available in the Library and on the civil service website at the following address:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/management_information/stat istical_information/statistics/publications/xls/disability_apr04 _4nov04.xls

Departmental Staff

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of departmental staff are based in London.

Ivor Caplin: As at February 2005 the Ministry of Defence currently has 6,140 full-time equivalent staff based within the London Government Office Region, representing 5.7 per cent. of the total departmental strength of 107,980.

Disabled People (Armed Forces)

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people in the armed forces had a registered disability in each year since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Details of personnel who are classified as disabled under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are not held centrally. The armed forces are exempt from the employment provisions of the Act.

First World War Medals

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has decided to dispose of the First World War medal index cards; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence, together with The National Archives, has been actively seeking a suitable institution prepared to take these cards. So far, a firm offer of a home for just a small part of the collection has been made. No decision on the retention or destruction of the cards will be taken until all such avenues have been explored.

First World War Medals

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on the retention of First World War medal index cards; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: Approximately 100 members of the public have made representations directly or via their MPs about the future of the index cards. In addition, a number of organisations have made formal and informal approaches about the possibility of taking them.
	The Ministry of Defence, together with The National Archives, has been actively seeking a suitable institution prepared to take these cards. So far, a firm offer of a home for just a small part of the collection has been made. No decision on the retention or destruction of the cards will be taken until all such avenues have been explored.

Gulf War Veterans

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the percentage of children born to Gulf War veterans who suffer from (a) deformities and (b) disabilities.

Ivor Caplin: I refer my right hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement I made to the House on 24 March 2004, Official Report, column 51–52WS, following the publication of a paper in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Hearing Loss (Armed Forces)

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many applications for war disablement pensions on grounds of deafness were made in each year since 1996; and how many were awarded.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Applications for war disablement pensions on grounds of deafness received for the following years are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 4,965 
			 1998–99 3,380 
			 1999–2000 2,370 
			 2000–01 1,975 
			 2001–02 1,650 
			 2002–03 1,605 
			 2003–04 1,445 
		
	
	Cases awarded:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997–98 825 
			 1998–99 330 
			 1999–2000 330 
			 2000–01 225 
			 2001–02 185 
			 2002–03 165 
			 2003–04 160 
		
	
	Data prior to April 1997 are not available.

Iraq (Military Conduct)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the guidelines on pre-trial prisoners and all others under detention without sentence contained in chapter 11 of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office report, "A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management" was made available to Major Dan Taylor, Camp Commander for Camp Bread Basket near Basra, prior to the detention of local looters.

Adam Ingram: No. Camp Bread Basket was not a prison facility.

Lance Corporal Ian Blaymire

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the transcript will be available of the court martial proceedings against Lance Corporal Ian Blaymire; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Adam Ingram: The Office of the Judge Advocate General, a part of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, is the custodian of all court martial papers. It is understood that they have no plans to place a copy of the transcript of this court martial in the Library of the House.

Medical Services (Cyprus)

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for New Forest, West of 13 December 2004, Official Report, column 908W, on medical services (Cyprus), when he plans to write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 1 February 2005
	I replied to the hon. Member on 30 January 2005 and placed a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Ministerial Stationery

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on official ministerial (a) business cards, (b) headed paper and (c) compliment slips in each year since 1997.

Ivor Caplin: I presume the hon. Member is referring to items used by departmental Ministers and have therefore excluded items used solely by private office staff for their personal professional communications. The Ministry of Defence does not provide ministerial compliments slips. The cost of ministerial business cards and headed paper in each financial year since 2000–01 is shown in the following table. Figures for the previous years are not held.
	
		Cost (£)
		
			  Business cards Headed paper(9) 
		
		
			 2000–01 70.72 593.83 
			 2001–02 108.00 2,432.00 
			 2002–03 0 1,867.97 
			 2003–04 99.88 1,304.05 
			 2004–05 94.00 2,723.29 
			 Total 373.90 8,921.14 
		
	
	(9) The figures provided for ministerial headed paper include continuation sheets which are used for ministerial correspondence. In addition, there are one or two occasions where envelopes and prompt cards have been included as the information is inseparable.

Service Redress Procedures

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints have been made under service redress procedures with respect to Queen's Regulation paragraph (a) 9.398, (b) 9.403 9, (c) 9.404, (d) 9.405, (e) 9.411, (f) 9.412, (g) 9.413 and (h) 9.414 since 1997; and how many of these complaints were (i) successful and (ii) partially successful.

Ivor Caplin: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  on how many occasions between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 departmental special advisers travelled (a) domestically and (b) abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost;
	(2)  when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Chichester on 1 December 2004, ref 202261;
	(3)  on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 his special advisers travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost.

Geoff Hoon: Ministry of Defence special advisers travelled abroad on official business between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 on 13 occasions, at an average cost of £983 per trip, visiting Brussels, Paris, Warsaw, Crete, Germany, Prague, Turkey, Italy, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United States.
	Between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004, Ministry of Defence special advisers travelled abroad on official business on 10 occasions, at an average cost of £1,051 per trip, visiting Denmark, Germany, the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Malta, Cyprus, Italy, Iraq, Oman, Brussels and France.
	Details of domestic travel by special advisers is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	All travel by special advisers is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.

Staff Numbers

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the average number of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time equivalent staff employed by the (i) Personnel Director, (ii) Pay and Personnel Agency, (iii) Defence Vetting Agency, (iv) Defence Export Services Organisation, (v) Finance Director, (vi) Defence Analytical Services Agency, (vii) Defence Bills Agency, (viii) Chief Constable Ministry Of Defence Police and (ix) Chief Scientific Adviser management groups was in financial year 2003–04;
	(2)  what the average number of (a) military and (b) civilian full-time equivalent staff employed by the (i) Deputy Chief of Defence Logistics, (ii) Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency, (iii) Defence Supply Chain HQ, (iv) Defence Storage and Distribution Agency, (v) British Forces Post Office and (vi) Warship Support Agency management groups was in financial year 2003–04.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 10 January 2005, Official Report, columns 79–80W.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Colleges for the Future Programme

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussion she has had with the Association of Colleges on its Colleges for the Future programme.

Kim Howells: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Association of Colleges on its Colleges for the Future programme.

FE Funding Gap

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the funding gap between school sixth forms and further education colleges in South-East Cambridgeshire; and if she will take steps to close the gap.

Kim Howells: The Department does not have information on what the funding gap is between school sixth forms and further education colleges in Cambridgeshire specifically.
	However, we have brought up funding levels for Further Education (FE) as we said we would, without penalising schools. The Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) funding rates per course in FE have been rising faster than school sixth forms and the gap has narrowed.
	Our policy has been to raise the level of funding for colleges, as and when we are able to secure the resources to do so.

Higher Education

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students attend a higher education establishment; and what estimate she has made of the number of students who will attend higher education establishments in each year to 2009–10.

Kim Howells: The latest published projections of student numbers in English institutions are set out in Annex M of the Department Annual Report (DAR) 2004, and are reproduced in the following table.
	
		Higher education(10) student numbers in England: Academic years 1998/99 to 2004/05
		
			  1998/99(11) 1999/2000(11) 2000/01(11) 2001/02(11) 2002/03(12) 2003/04(13) 2004/05(13) 
		
		
			 Home domiciled students (thousand) 1,480 1,478 1,501 1,527 1,587 1,634 1,670 
			 Of which:
			 full-time and sandwich 855 852 857 879 911 928 943 
			 Of which:
			 part time 625 626 644 648 676 706 727 
			 EU students (thousand) 81 81 81 75 73 79 88 
			 Other overseas students (thousand) 95 100 110 121 145 152 161 
			 Total full-time equivalent students (thousand) 1,225 1,227 1,251 1,281 1,343 1,379 1,417 
			 Of which:
			 publicly funded by HEFCE 9851,02 1,002 1,006 1,025 1,063 1,087 1,111 
			 Of which:
			 publicly funded by the TTA 60 56 60 59 60 63 66 
			 Of which:
			 ITT students 49 45 49 48 49 52 55 
		
	
	(10) Higher education in higher and further education institutions
	(11) Actual
	(12) Provisional
	(13) Projected
	Note:
	Constituent parts may not sum to totals due to rounding
	The planned number of student places is set during spending reviews in the light of the Government's target of increasing participation in higher education towards 50 per cent. of those aged 17–30 by the end of the decade. Planned student numbers for 2005–06 to 2007–08 were set as part of Spending Review 2004, and figures for academic year 2005/06 will be published in the Departmental Annual Report 2005.

Higher Education

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will include the North East Wales Institute in Wrexham in the list of higher education institutions recognised by the Chinese authorities as awarding degrees to Chinese students.

Kim Howells: On the basis of information provided by the UK National Recognition Information Centre, the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education in Wrexham is already included in the list of 'Recognised Bodies' as a member of the University of Wales. The information was provided to the Chinese authorities on 27 August 2004 through the Chinese Embassy in London.

Medical Schools

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2005, Official Report, columns 690–92W, on medical schools, how many of the undergraduates (a) were aged under 21 years at the time of admission, (b) had three Cs or less at A level and (c) had three Ds at A level.

Kim Howells: The tables provide information on the numbers of undergraduate entrants to pre-clinical medicine courses within the UK, who were (a) aged under 21 years at the time of admission (a subset of the table provided in my previous answer), (b) had three Cs or less at A level and (c) had three Ds at A level.
	
		UK domiciled undergraduate entrants, aged under 21 years to pre-clinical medicine with less than 3 C's (or equivalent (14)(15)at A level
		
			 Institution 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine — — — — — — — 
			 King's College London — 5 — — — 5 10 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College — — 5 — — 5 5 
			 Queen's University of Belfast — — — — — — — 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School — 5 — — — — — 
			 University College London — — — — — — — 
			 University of Aberdeen 5 10 10 15 5 5 5 
			 University of Birmingham 5 — — 5 5 10 — 
			 University of Bristol — — — — — — — 
			 University of Brighton — — — — — — — 
			 University of Cambridge — — — — — — — 
			 University of Dundee — 10 5 10 25 5 10 
			 University of Durham — — — — — — — 
			 University of East Anglia — — — — — — — 
			 University of Edinburgh 5 — — — — 5 5 
			 University of Exeter (Peninsular Medical School)(16) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Glasgow 15 10 15 10 20 10 10 
			 University of Hull(17) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Leeds — — 5 — 15 15 10 
			 University of Leicester — — — — — — — 
			 University of Liverpool — — 10 5 — — — 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne — — 5 — 5 5 — 
			 University of Nottingham — 5 — — — — — 
			 University of Oxford — — — — — — — 
			 University of Plymouth (Peninsular Medical School)(16) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Sheffield 5 5 10 5 5 5 5 
			 University of Southampton — — 5 — — — — 
			 University of St. Andrews — — 15 — 10 10 10 
			 University of Sussex — — — — — — — 
			 University of Warwick — — — — — — — 
			 University of Warwick — — — — — — — 
			 University of York(17) — — — — — — — 
			 Victoria University of Manchester — — — — — 5 — 
			 Total 35 50 75 45 85 95 70 
		
	
	'—' signifies 0, 1 or 2.
	(14) Based upon students obtaining A level qualifications.
	(15) For years up to and including 2001/02, figures are based upon students with A level qualifications and a points score of between 1 and 17 A level points. For 2002–03 onwards, the figures are based upon the students' tariff score from A level qualifications and includes students with 1 to 239 tariff points.
	(16) Delivery of the Undergraduate Programme began in autumn 2002.
	(17)First intake of students accepted in 2003.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and are a snapshot as at the 1 December Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
	
		UK domiciled undergraduate entrants, aged under 21 years. to pre-clinical medicine with less than 3 C's (or equivalent(18) , (19) at A level
		
			 Institution 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine 5 — — — — — — 
			 King's College London — 10 5 10 10 10 20 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College — 5 10 — — 5 20 
			 Queen's University of Belfast — — — — — — — 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School — 5 — — — — 15 
			 University College London — — — — — 5 5 
			 University of Aberdeen 10 15 10 15 10 10 10 
			 University of Birmingham 5 — 5 5 5 15 5 
			 University of Bristol — — — — — — — 
			 University of Brighton — — — — — — 5 
			 University of Cambridge — — — — 5 — 0 
			 University of Dundee 5 10 5 15 30 5 15 
			 University of Durham — — — — — — 10 
			 University of East Anglia — — — — — 5 25 
			 University of Edinburgh 5 — — — — 5 5 
			 University of Exeter (Peninsular Medical School)(20) — — — — — — 10 
			 University of Glasgow 20 10 15 15 20 10 15 
			 University of Hull(21) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Leeds 5 5 5 5 30 30 30 
			 University of Leicester — — — — 10 5 30 
			 University of Liverpool 10 5 15 5 — — — 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne — 5 5 5 5 5 — 
			 University of Nottingham — 5 — — — 5 15 
			 University of Oxford — — — — — — — 
			 University of Plymouth (Peninsular Medical School)(20) — — — — — — 15 
			 University of Sheffield 5 5 10 5 5 5 5 
			 University of Southampton 5 — — — — 5 — 
			 University of St Andrews 5 5 20 — 10 10 10 
			 University of Sussex — — — — — — 5 
			 University of Wales, Cardiff — 5 5 10 — — 0 
			 University of Warwick — — — 10 — — 35 
			 University of York(21) — — — — — — 5 
			 Victoria University of Manchester — 5 — 5 15 10 5 
			 Total 90 85 110 105 155 160 325 
		
	
	'—' signifies 0, 1 or 2.
	(18) Based upon students obtaining A level qualifications.
	(19) For years up to and including 2001–02, figures are based upon students with A level qualifications and a points score of between 1 and 17 A level points. For 2002–03 onwards, the figures are based upon the students' tariff score from A level qualifications and includes students with 1 to 239 tariff points.
	(20) Delivery of the Undergraduate Programme began in autumn 2002.
	(21) First intake of students accepted in 2003
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and are a snapshot as at the 1 December
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
	
		UK domiciled undergraduate entrants to pre-clinical medicine with 3 D's (or equivalent)(22)(5507640023) at A level
		
			 Institution 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine — — — — — — — 
			 King's College London — — — — — — — 
			 Queen Mary and Westfield College — — — — — — — 
			 Queen's University of Belfast — — — — — — — 
			 St. George's Hospital Medical School — — — — — — 5 
			 University College London — — — — — — — 
			 University of Aberdeen — — — — — 5 — 
			 University of Birmingham — — — — — — — 
			 University of Bristol — — — — — — — 
			 University of Brighton — — — — — — 5 
			 University of Cambridge — — — — — — — 
			 University of Dundee — — — 5 5 — — 
			 University of Durham — — — — — — — 
			 University of East Anglia — — — — — — 5 
			 University of Edinburgh — — — — — — — 
			 University of Exeter (Peninsular Medical School)(24) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Glasgow — 5 — — 5 — — 
			 University of Hull(21) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Leeds — — — — — — — 
			 University of Leicester — — — — — — — 
			 University of Liverpool — — — — — — — 
			 University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne — — — — — — — 
			 University of Nottingham — — — — — — 5 
			 University of Oxford — — — — — — — 
			 University of Plymouth (Peninsular Medical School)(24) — — — — — — — 
			 University of Sheffield — — — — — — — 
			 University of Southampton — — — — —  — 
			 University of St Andrews — — — — —  — 
			 University of Sussex — — — — — — — 
			 University of Wales, Cardiff — — — — — — — 
			 University of Warwick — — — — — — 5 
			 University of York(25) — — — — — — — 
			 Victoria University of Manchester — — — — — — — 
			 Total 5 5 5 10 10 10 25 
		
	
	'—' signifies 0, 1 or 2.
	(22) Based upon students obtaining A level qualifications.
	(23) For years up to and including 2001–02, figures are based upon students with A level qualifications and a points score of 12 A level points. For 2002–03 onwards, the figures are based upon the students' tariff score from A level qualifications and includes students with 180 tariff points.
	(24) Delivery of the Undergraduate Programme began in autumn 2002
	(25) First intake of students accepted in 2003.
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 and are a snapshot as at 1 December.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Non-vocational Adult Education

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on (a) provision and (b) funding of non-vocational adult education in 2005–06.

Kim Howells: As reiterated in our White Paper, 'Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work', published on the 22 March, we remain strongly committed to ensuring the availability of a wide range of learning opportunities for adults, including for personal and community development.
	The DfES and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) will agree each year an overall indicative budget for the funds that should be used to support education and training programmes which do not lead to qualifications. Nationally, this will be based on the broad proportion of LSC funds currently spent on this type of learning. But within it, the range of provision needs to keep evolving so that it best meets changing learner and community needs.
	We will therefore continue to provide significant non-vocational provision to meet the needs of a wide range of learners. However it is learning providers and local LSCs who are best placed to assess the learning needs of their communities and to prioritise funding accordingly.

School Meals

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the meetings attended by (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department with Mr. Jamie Oliver during the last two years on the subject of school dinners.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Officials have had various contacts with Jamie Oliver's production team since January 2004. Ministers had the following contact with Jamie Oliver to discuss his TV programme and his views on school meals and also to discuss the Department's work improving children's health and diet:
	telephone conversation 2 September 2004;
	meeting 13 December 2004;
	meeting 4 February 2005.
	In addition, departmental records show that officials met with Jamie Oliver to discuss school meals issues on:
	2 February 2005;
	4 February 2005 with Minister.

Student Loans/Support

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills why the annual student loan repayment threshold is being increased from £10,000 to £15,000 from 1 April for graduates who commenced their studies on or after 1 September 1998.

Kim Howells: The Government's 2003 White Paper "The future of higher education" set out our proposal to raise the repayment threshold for income contingent student loans from £10,000 to £15,000 a year, as part of new arrangements for student support. The change, which takes effect from 6 April 2005, will reduce annual repayments for borrowers earning £15,000 per annum or more by £450 a year; and those with earnings under the new threshold will not be required to make repayments.

Student Loans/Support

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what effect the change to the student loan repayment threshold from 1 April will have on the national student loan repayment book.

Kim Howells: The impact of raising the repayment threshold for income contingent student loans from £10,000 to £15,000 per annum, which takes effect from 6 April 2005, was set out in chapter 7 of "The future of higher education and the Higher Education Bill 2004: Regulatory Impact Assessment". This is available in the House of Commons Library.

Student Loans/Support

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much support will be available to students in the form of fee remission and university bursaries in the case of joint family incomes of (a) less than £15,970, (b) between £15,970 and £22,270, (b) between £22,270 and £33,533 and (d) more than £33,533 for each English university in (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2006–07; and what these figures are net of tuition fees.

Kim Howells: The thresholds for the HE grant and tuition fee grant for 2005–06, for English and Welsh domiciled students, are as follows.
	
		Students where there is a contribution from a parent orspouse/partner
		
			  £ 
			 Household income Fee grant HE grant 
		
		
			 £15,580 or less 1,175 1,000 
			 £15,581 to £21,565 1,175 partial 
			 £21,566 to £32,744 partial none 
			 £32,745 or more none none 
		
	
	
		Independent students with no spouse or partner
		
			  £ 
			 Household income Fee grant HE grant 
		
		
			 £10,250 or less 1,175 1,000 
			 £10,251 to15,580 partial 1,000 
			 £15,581 to 20,984 partial partial 
			 £20,985 to 21,565 none partial 
			 £21,566 or more none none 
		
	
	In 2006–07 there will be no fee remission grant for new English domiciled students; fee support will be in the form of non-means-tested loans rather than grants. Students with household income below about £33,000 will also be eligible for a new non-repayable grant of up to £2,700 a year. The exact thresholds and tapers for this grant will be confirmed in the summer but the indicative thresholds for the grant are as follows.
	
		
			 Household income Grant entitlement 
		
		
			 £16,000 or less full £2,700 
			 £16,001 to £33,000 Partial 
			 £33,001 or more none 
		
	
	In addition, individual universities may offer support; and details of the level of bursary support available to students eligible for full state support were provided in answer to Peter Bradley's question (No.223409) on 22 March 2005. Further details of the bursaries offered by individual institutions are available in their access agreements, visible on the OFFA website; in all, such support is calculated at around £300 million.

Teacher Training (York)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on training teachers at (a) University of York and (b) University College of York St. John in (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 2003–04; and how many trainee teachers completed their studies at each institution in each year.

Kim Howells: The latest available figures, provided by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), are in the following table.
	
		
			 HEI Funding(26) (£) Students completing (with QTS)(22) 
		
		
			 Academic year 1997/98   
			 University of York 424,177 122 (105) 
			 College of Ripon and York St. John 1,971,178 267 (244) 
			
			 Academic year 2003/04   
			 University of York 562,783 136 (118) 
			 York St. John College 3,038,672 357 (335) 
		
	
	(26) The funding figures are on mainstream funding only.
	2 Figures for 2003/04 are provisional.

Woodcraft Folk

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will meet representatives of the Woodcraft Folk to discuss the movement's future programme and request for continued grant funding.

Margaret Hodge: I met the Woodcraft Folk on 4 April.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Artificial Insemination

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1925–26W, on bovine artificial insemination, what the reasons are for the difference in the costs of official testing of bull semen in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain.

Ben Bradshaw: As stated in the answer of 10 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1925–26W in Northern Ireland, bulls are sampled by private veterinary practitioners with financial arrangements agreed between the bull owner and the veterinary practice concerned. As this cost is arranged between the bull owner and the veterinary practice concerned, it was not included in the costs given in the earlier answer. We understand that private vets typically charge £80 to £100 per bull. In Great Britain, Defra veterinarians carry out the sampling and the charge is amalgamated into a single fee.

CAP Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many complaints she has received concerning the decision to publish information on former details of Common Agricultural Policy payments under the Freedom of Information legislation.

Alun Michael: At close of business on 29 March the Rural Payments Agency's Access to Information Unit had received approximately 2,500 representations concerning the decision to publish information on Common Agricultural Policy payments. The great majority of these were opposed to publication. The Government takes the view that it is in the public interest and consistent with the principles on Freedom of Information, for the information to be in the public domain.

Carbon Emissions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure compliance with the Government's commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 20 per cent.

Elliot Morley: The Spending Review 2004 reconfirmed Defra's public service agreement (PSA) target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5 per cent. below 1990 levels in line with our Kyoto commitment and to move towards a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by 2010. The PSA target is shared jointly with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Transport.
	The UK Climate Change Programme published in 2000 sets out the Government's approach to tackling climate change. It contains policies and measures intended to achieve the emissions reductions necessary to deliver the UK's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol and move towards the national goal of a 20 per cent. reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Progress towards the Kyoto Protocol commitment and our national goal are discussed by Ministers regularly, in particular through the Sustainable Energy Policy Network (SEPN), whose Ministerial Group, which is jointly chaired by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, oversees the delivery of the Energy White Paper commitments and the current review of the UK Climate Change Programme. The .review of the UK Climate Change Programme provides an opportunity for the Government to look carefully at whether to introduce new policies and measures, and/or strengthen existing ones, to put us back on track towards the national goal.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act (Yorkshire)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what parts of (a) York and (b) North Yorkshire have been opened to the public by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Alun Michael: The Countryside Agency, in England, is required by Part I of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (the Act) to prepare, in turn, draft, provisional and conclusive maps of open country (mountain, moor, heath and down) and registered common land to which the public will have a new right of open access on foot. In order to map such land, the Countryside Agency divided England into eight mapping areas. These mapping areas are based on national park and local authority boundaries rather than traditional county boundaries. The Countryside Agency is mapping sequentially around the eight areas and the new right of access is being introduced in each area once the mapping exercise has been completed. We are on track to introduce the new right across England by the end of this year.
	The county of North Yorkshire has land included in four different mapping areas: Lower North West; Upper North West; North East; and East (which includes the City of York). To date, the new right of access has commenced in one of these areas, the Lower North West, and, as a result, the new right of access currently applies to 4,884 hectares of land in North Yorkshire. Maps showing where the right of access applies in England are displayed on the Countryside Agency's website: www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk.
	Information on the amount of access land opened to the public in the rest of North Yorkshire (including the City of York) will become available once all the conclusive maps are available, later this year.

Dairy Farming (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much milk was produced in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley in each of the last three years; and how much was (i) sold as milk and (ii) processed for cheese in each case.

Alun Michael: Precise estimates of milk production in Lancashire and Chorley are not readily available. The milk production figures given in the table provide broad estimates based on multiplying the average UK milk yield per cow by the number of cows in the specified region. The cow numbers for 2004 are not yet available.
	Milk utilisation figures are only available at national level. Therefore the proportion of milk produced in Lancashire and Chorley sold as liquid milk and processed for cheese is not available.
	
		Estimated milk production
		
			 Region Number of dairy cows Average yield per cow (UK) litres Estimated milk production m/litres 
		
		
			 2003 — 6,634 — 
			 Lancashire CC(27) 77,145 — 512 
			 Chorley 4,429 — 29 
			 2002 — 6,494 — 
			 Lancashire CC(27) 78,498 — 521 
			 Chorley 4,628 — 31 
			 2001 — 6,346 — 
			 Lancashire CC(27) 83,402 — 553 
			 Chorley 4,748 — 31 
		
	
	(27) The figures for Lancashire CC includes Chorley, but excludes Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool.

Departmental Budget

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the planned (a) capital and (b) resource budget for her Department is for 2011–12.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 4 April 2005, Official Report, column 1170W.

Departmental Policies (Pendle)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Pendle constituency, the effects on Pendle of her Department's policies and activities since 2 May 1997.

Alun Michael: Since its establishment in 2001 Defra has put in place a comprehensive programme of action on issues including sustainable development, climate change and energy, sustainable consumption and production, natural resource protection, sustainable rural communities, and a sustainable farming and food sector. A summary of our achievements to date can be found at http://defra/corporate/achievements.htm. I am confident that the Pendle constituency will have benefited from these. Through our national strategy for waste we are committed to delivering a step change to more sustainable waste management, including tough national targets to recycle or compost 17 per cent. of household waste by 2003–04 and 25 per cent. by 2005–06.
	Since 2001, Defra has established a number of funding mechanisms to help local authorities achieve their targets. As a result of allocations from these funds the residents of Pendle should reap the benefits over the next few years. Since 2001 a total of £723,436 has been awarded to the borough to expand kerbside recycling schemes.
	In March 2005 we announced that Lancashire is to be as one of eight rural pathfinders in England. The pathfinder initiative is a key part of the Government's Rural Strategy and reflects the Government's commitment to devolve decision-making and resources to the local level. The Lancashire rural pathfinder will ensure greater co-ordination of rural delivery programmes testing new and innovative methods to bring about improvements in the delivery of services to rural communities and businesses.
	Defra provides comprehensive statistical information. The following web address will take you directly to the service: http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/default.asp

Environmental Standards

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures are being taken to ensure that high environmental standards do not conflict with industrial competitiveness.

Elliot Morley: Contrary to some views, there is no need for high environmental standards to conflict with industrial competitiveness or economic success. In many cases, high environmental standards can bring both the benefits of a good environment and direct economic benefits to sectors of industry. Well designed environmental regulation can be a stimulus to innovation and industrial efficiency.
	Defra's aim is sustainable development, which means a better quality of life for everyone. We understand that quality of life is dependent on a strong, fair society, economic prosperity and the quality of people's current and future environment.
	In all the policy making that we undertake, we therefore attempt to properly balance the effects of our policies on each of the social, economic and environment areas and to maximise the net benefit—so that each of our policies take the country closer to sustainable development. Ensuring the UK has industries that can trade competitively in international markets is a key part of maintaining economic prosperity in the UK.
	Policy proposals pass through an option appraisal,—the regulatory impact assessment—looking at the net costs and benefits of each option proposed. This includes the benefits and costs which do not have a market value (for example, ecosystems) and will include the impacts on competitiveness. In many cases, the benefits of policy in one area—for example an improvement of people's environmental quality—are traded off against smaller costs in others, for example costs to consumers to particular service. That is very different to an impact on the UK's competitiveness.
	The Government take the issue of impacts on competitiveness very seriously. Nevertheless, it is not easy to predict the impact of any policy on competitiveness of the UK as a whole—the dynamic effects of any stimulus rely on complex interactions. To appraise impacts on competitiveness—rather than just the static impacts on any industry which are already appraised—the Government are developing a methodology for use in cost-benefit analysis. Defra is fully committed to using this methodology to take better account of any impacts, good or bad, or our policy on competitiveness.
	Defra therefore is serious about setting goals with net benefits for the UK and achieving those goals in the most efficient way, maximising benefits and reducing costs.
	Most environmental legislation comes from Brussels. We are influential in shaping that policy to meet our broad sustainable development goals. Pushing the better regulation agenda—to increase the efficiency of policy, set appropriately balanced goals and reduce unnecessary burden on business—is one of our five priorities for our presidency of the Council during 2005. We are already seeing success in the use of better impact assessments and simplification of existing measures.
	Further, my Department is leading the way in Whitehall in reducing the administrative burden of regulation, something that may impact on the UK's competitiveness. We have committed to reducing the information and form filling burden on those industries we regulate by 25 per cent. of the next five years.
	The impacts of policy on industrial sectors depend significantly on the regulation and inspection of firms and individuals by the agencies and bodies responsible for that task. My Department continues to work with its sponsored delivery bodies to cut unnecessary administrative burden, a process which will lead, amongst other things, to a consolidation of functions over the next four years.
	These are only some of the steps that my department will be taking to meet the joint goals of economic prosperity and high environmental standards.

Fisheries

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much EU aid was paid to the fishing industries of (a) Spain, (b) France and (c) Denmark in each of the last eight years for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The current EU fisheries grants scheme covers the period 2000–2006. The EU aid planned in that period for those countries was (a) Spain £1,076.4 million (b) France £145.9 million and (c) Denmark £127.7 million. The comparable figure for the UK is £136.4 million. We do not know what has been spent to date in other member states. However since 1 January 2005 there has been a level playing field in that no member state has been able to give aid for the construction of new vessels and only for modernisation if vessel capacity is not altered. In addition to the grants scheme various other sources of help for those fishing industry will exist in those member states as it does in the UK.

Hazardous Waste

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  how much contaminated soil has been disposed of to landfill since the coming into force of regulations implementing the EU Waste Framework Directive; and what the figure was in the equivalent period prior to the coming into force of those regulations;
	(2)  how many movements by lorry of hazardous waste there have been since the coming into force of regulations implementing the EU Waste Framework Directive.

Elliot Morley: I have referred these questions to the Environment Agency. The Agency will take some time to collate the information requested and my noble Friend, The Baroness Young, will write to the hon. Lady directly when they have done so.

Radioactive Sources

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to change the policy on management of high activity radioactive (a) sealed sources and (b) orphan sources.

Elliot Morley: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the devolved administrations published a consultation paper on 18 March. This set out proposals for implementing Council Directive 2003/122/Euratom on the control of high-activity sealed sources and orphan sources. The consultation paper included draft regulations to amend existing legislation in this area. Copies of the consultation paper have been placed in the Library.

Raptors

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to examine methods of control of peregrine hawks and sparrow hawks, with particular reference to their impact on other bird species.

Ben Bradshaw: We have no plans to examine methods of control of birds of prey. We are aware of increasing concerns from grouse moor owners, racing pigeon fanciers over the impact of rising raptor populations on bird numbers, including songbirds. A Raptor Working Group was set up in 1995, jointly chaired by the DETR and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The recommendations from the Raptor Working Group's final report, published in 2000, provides the basis for and inform efforts to find an effective and acceptable solution to the problems caused by birds of prey.
	Work is now being taken forward by the country conservation agencies, and other organisations. In addition, English Nature has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Moorland Association on addressing the issue of raptor predation in the uplands.
	A paper on progress in implementing the recommendations of the Raptor Working Group Report was presented to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and noted by them, in September 2003. The paper is publicly available on their website at: http://www.incc.gov.uk/management/committee/papers03–09/incc03N06.pdf. Copies of the Raptor Working Group report are available from the Library of the House.
	Birds of prey are usually the top predators in their food chains. As with other predatory species, populations of birds of prey are normally heavily influenced by their prey populations rather than the other way around. The available evidence suggests that recovering populations of birds of prey are not responsible for recent declines in some songbirds and that other factors related to habitat change and the intensification of farming are mainly to blame.

Recycling Targets

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much in fines the UK has paid to the EU for failing to meet recycling targets in each year since 2001.

Elliot Morley: The UK has not paid any money to the EU for fines in 2001 or in subsequent years.
	The UK narrowly failed to meet the packaging directive's recovery target in 2001, but did meet the recycling target and material-specific recycling targets for all materials. In each year since 2001, the UK has continued to meet the required targets.

Sewers and Drains

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) consultation and (b) research has been done to assess the effects of proposed changes of ownership of private sewers and lateral drains on the sector, with particular reference to companies working in drain services.

Elliot Morley: The Department published the Review of Existing Private Sewers and Drains in England and Wales consultation paper in 2003. A range of organisations was consulted, representing many different stakeholder groups. The consultation paper was also publicised in the trade press.
	Key stakeholders, including the drain repair industry, were invited to a private sewers seminar in January this year. This included a workshop looking at the potential impacts on small businesses.
	The Department has also undertaken further research to identify the potential impacts any transfer may have on drain repair companies. This involved contacting over 130 companies. A small firms impact test and competition assessment will be included in the updated regulatory impact assessment. This will accompany the decision paper intended for publication in the summer.

Water Supplies

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likelihood of water shortages in 2005.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is the statutory body with a duty to manage water resources in England and Wales and it advises the Secretary of State accordingly. The agency's current assessment is that even with average rainfall over the next six weeks there may still be some localised water supply problems in southern England this summer. Below average rainfall is likely to result in more serious problems for water companies in the South and this may extend towards the South-West and into the Midlands and East Anglia. Water companies may need to activate the measures in their drought plans, such as hosepipe bans, if the rainfall deficit does not diminish.

Water Supplies

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with water companies on the adequacy of future supplies; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency is the statutory body which has a duty to secure the proper and efficient use of water resources in England and Wales and it advises the Secretary of State accordingly. Each water company in England and Wales produces a water resources plan setting out how it proposes to maintain the supply and demand balance of water for the next 25 years. The plans are assessed by the Environment Agency and reviewed annually.
	The plans were updated as part of the recent periodic review of water company prices. The agency reported to Ministers, in July 2004, on these plans in "Maintaining Water Supply", which is available on its website.
	The agency concluded that all water companies should be able to meet their customers' needs in the short term, although some companies need to work quickly to address security of supply issues. It believes that greater attention to demand management measures could offset the need, identified by some companies, for new or enlarged reservoirs that are expensive and potentially damaging to the environment.

NORTHERN IRELAND

A2

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when consultants will be appointed by his Department to make recommendations on the upgrading of the A2, Carrickfergus Belfast Road at Jordanstown and Green Island.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Mr. Beggs, dated 6 April 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question asking when consultants will be appointed to make recommendations on the upgrading of the A2, Carrickfergus Belfast Road at Jordanstown and Green Island. [ 224418 ]. I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	I can advise you that consultants Scott Wilson/Ferguson McIlveen were appointed on 18 March this year.
	Since appointment the consultants have been mobilising their resources and reviewing existing information and I do not as yet have a detailed programme for their work.
	However, this scheme is included in the Roads Service Preparation Pool, which is a list of road improvement schemes that are to be developed and taken through the Statutory Procedures with the expectation of progressing to construction within the next five years, subject to the availability of the necessary funds at that time.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Aircraft Charters

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money his Department has spent on chartering aircraft in each of the past five years.

Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office (excluding its Agencies and NDPBs) has spent the following on chartering aircraft in each of the past five years:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 657,323 
			 2000–01 729,369 
			 2001–02 622,972 
			 2002–03 599,105 
			 2003–04 546,372

Andersonstown News Group

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much money the Andersonstown News Group has received from (a) the Northern Ireland Office, (b) departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies within the Northern Ireland Civil Service and (c) Invest Northern Ireland since May 1997; how many applications remain to be determined; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The Northern Ireland Office has not provided funding to the ANG.
	(b) and (c) I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 11 February 2005, Official Report, column 1016W. Details of funding provided to ANG for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2004 are included in that response (information prior to 1 April 1999 is not readily available). Funding for ANG is listed under the company names of Andersonstown News and Preas an Phobail Ltd.
	There are no current ANG applications for funding remaining to be determined. However, DCAL, via Foras na Gaeilge, has agreed to provide funding of £21,250 in respect of the six months ending June 2005.

Departmental Budget/Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the planned (a) capital and (b) resource budget for his Department is for 2011–12.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary on 4 April 2005, Official Report, column 1170W.

Departmental Budget/Expenditure

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department spent on lawyers in each year since 1997; how many (a) actions, (b) settlements and (c) court cases there were in each year; and what the costs were of each settlement.

Paul Murphy: The information requested by the hon. Member is not readily available and to do so would be at disproportionate cost.

Electoral Register

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list by constituency the numbers of eligible voters who failed to re-register in the 2004 annual canvass.

John Spellar: The following table lists by constituency the number of eligible electors who failed to re-register following the annual canvass and so did not appear on the register published on 1 December 2004.
	
		
			 Constituency Total 
		
		
			 Belfast East 4,028 
			 Belfast North 5,440 
			 Belfast South 4,986 
			 Belfast West 5,509 
			 East Antrim 4,240 
			 East Londonderry 3,480 
			 Fermanagh/South Tyrone 3,887 
			 Foyle 6,270 
			 Lagan Valley 4,198 
			 Mid Ulster 3,464 
			 North Antrim 3,667 
			 North Down 4,023 
			 Newry and Armagh 4,387 
			 South Antrim 5,345 
			 South Down 4,653 
			 Strangford 4,325 
			 Upper Bann 4,611 
			 West Tyrone 4,420 
			 Total 80,933

Electoral Register

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the reasons why eligible voters failed to re-register in the 2004 annual canvass; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The Northern Ireland Office has not conducted detailed research in this area. However, I understand that the Electoral Commission will be continuing to monitor the levels of registration and the reasons regarding why eligible voters failed to register.

Electoral Registration Bill

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received from (a) political parties, (b) the Electoral Commission and (c) the Northern Ireland Electoral Office about the Electoral Registration (Northern Ireland) Bill.

John Spellar: The Government consulted with the Northern Ireland political parties last November. None of the parties opposed introducing the measures in the Bill. Both the Electoral Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer were consulted about the measures contained in the Bill.

Invest Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been spent in each of the last three years on offering assistance to representatives of companies in Northern Ireland at the invitation of Invest Northern Ireland, broken down by constituency.

Barry Gardiner: The following table provides information relating to offers made to clients by parliamentary constituency area during the three years up to end March 2004. Included is the total amount of planned investment to which these offers contributed. Invest NI's information is provided for the years 2002–03 and 2003–04. Information for 2001–02 is based on funding provided by two of Invest NI's legacy agencies—the Industrial Development Board and the Local Enterprise Development Unit.
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 
			 Parliamentary constituency area Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(28) (£) Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(28) (£) 
		
		
			 Belfast East 46 5,760,102 29,021,415 58 2,103,025 8,512,108 
			 Belfast North 58 5,670,981 14,380,030 45 7,565,191 20,071,672 
			 Belfast South 78 5,780,647 33,336,606 137 15,943,868 38,581,673 
			 Belfast West 29 4,978,855 26,254,575 47 4,154,127 16,518,873 
			 East Antrim 46 1,633,322 11,499,761 66 6,249,254 21,210,100 
			 East Londonderry 44 2,006,291 6,984,996 59 4,168,042 13,950,428 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 70 4,660,406 28,325,773 69 5,720,677 22,971,162 
			 Foyle 69 5,230,250 20,922,057 94 14,414,920 105,655,505 
			 Lagan Valley 64 1,385,337 7,418,796 54 1,462,738 6,682,614 
			 Mid Ulster 111 3,596,184 18,695,873 143 4,056,819 20,082,706 
			 Newry and Armagh 98 2,460,108 14,561,864 84 6,258,098 22,320,265 
			 North Antrim 68 2,261,799 12,919,845 72 2,387,964 14,215,617 
			 North Down 43 960,839 4,989,873 44 1,347,025 6,467,355 
			 South Antrim 72 7,033,902 76,712,254 86 22,877,977 142,862,810 
			 South Down 63 5,417,186 20,525,114 70 2,439,960 12,649,429 
			 Strangford 46 2,277,552 10,315,133 62 2,148,990 9,258,178 
			 Upper Bann 67 5,061,360 26,992,790 78 16,626,275 73,276,818 
			 West Tyrone 52 4,348,708 31,648,319 52 4,786,843 20,172,661 
			 Yet to be determined(29) 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Grand total 1,124 70,523,829 395,505,074 1,320 124,711,793 575,459,974 
		
	
	
		
			  2003–04 
			 Parliamentary constituency area Number of offers Assistance (£) Investment(28) (£) 
		
		
			 Belfast East 153 15,781,519 59,561,789 
			 Belfast North 111 4,491,136 24,863,957 
			 Belfast South 268 25,744,481 106,565,647 
			 Belfast West 96 8,083,963 26,637,704 
			 East Antrim 175 3,895,611 12,601,313 
			 East Londonderry 116 5,515,632 10,952,580 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 211 4,330,331 16,063,338 
			 Foyle 232 7,590,869 27,306,606 
			 Lagan Valley 189 1,701,255 5,865,880 
			 Mid Ulster 318 5,610,090 25,338,036 
			 Newry and Armagh 188 2,126,189 8,466,145 
			 North Antrim 194 5,261,235 31,305,993 
			 North Down 97 5,051,236 15,224,274 
			 South Antrim 216 4,533,953 15,122,204 
			 South Down 160 1,244,825 4,201,426 
			 Strangford 121 1,641,799 5,431,651 
			 Upper Bann 240 6,995,359 31,978,233 
			 West Tyrone 194 7,314,505 35,664,802 
			 Yet to be determined(29) 2 240,000 4,769,000 
			 Grand total 3,281 117,153,988 467,890,578 
		
	
	(28) Investment totals include assistance offered.
	(29) "Yet to be determined" relates to offers made to businesses which have not as yet determined a precise location.
	An additional £21,211,335 was offered in 2002–03 that could not be allocated by area.

Lighthouse Fund

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received from other Government Departments regarding the cessation of payments from the UK General Lighthouse Fund for the provision of navigational aids in Irish territorial waters.

John Spellar: I am unaware of any representations on this matter.

Lighthouse Fund

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Irish Government regarding the cessation of payments from the UK General Lighthouse Fund for the provision of navigational aids in Irish territorial waters.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	We recognise that the current funding arrangements set out in the 1985 Agreement are increasingly inappropriate for today's political and commercial context. Following discussions at official level between the two Governments, the Irish Government's Department of Communication, Marine and Natural Resources have now stated that they have no objection in principle to participating in a review of the Agreement. We are now developing proposals for their consideration as a matter of priority.

Milk Prices

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on milk prices in Northern Ireland.

Ian Pearson: The average producer milk price in Northern Ireland was 18.26 pence per litre in 2004, which was an increase of 0.26 pence per litre (+ 1.5 per cent.) on the previous year. This compares with an average milk price for the UK as a whole of 18.56 pence per litre in 2004.
	The milk price in Great Britain is slightly higher because around 50 per cent. of total milk production goes into the higher priced liquid market. In comparison, around 85 per cent. of milk produced in Northern Ireland is processed into commodities such as butter, cheese and milk powders.
	Detailed information on milk prices and on the value of milk production is given in the 'Statistical Review of Northern Ireland Agriculture, 2004', which was published on 24 March 2005 and is available on the DARD website at www.dardni.gov.uk.

Patten Report

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officers (a) were employed by the Special Branch of the Police Service of Northern Ireland immediately before the implementation of the Patten Report and (b) are serving in PSNI Special Branch.

Ian Pearson: The information is as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 January 2001  
			 E dept. (including HMSU) 855 
			 Total 855 
			   
			 18 March 2005  
			 C3 intelligence 433 
			 C4 crime support 281 
			 Total 714

Police

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers were on duty during the weekends of (a) 1 and 2 January and (b) 7 and 8 January in (i) Garvagh, (ii) Kilrea, (iii) Coleraine, (iv) Portrush and (v) Portstewart police stations.

Ian Pearson: The number of officers deployed on duty per shift during the weekends of (a) 1 and 2 January and (b) 7 and 8 of January 2005 in Coleraine DCU was as follows:
	
		
			  Coleraine DCU personnel Tactical support group 
			  Early(30) Night(31) Early(30) Night(31) 
		
		
			 1 January 2005 23 37 24 0 
			 2 January 2005 20 21 21 0 
			 7 January 2005 30 26 0 0 
			 8 January 2005 20 29 0 0 
		
	
	(30) Early shift 0700 to 1900 hours.
	(31) Night shift 1900 to 0700 hours.
	Notes:
	1. Tactical Support Group are available to provide support anywhere in the District Command Unit.
	2. Any shortfall in resource in one station will be supplemented by resources from another.

Police

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when Police Service of Northern Ireland candidates processed under Campaign 8 will be informed of the outcome; how many candidates there were, broken down by (a) religion and (b) gender; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Applicants to a PSNI trainee constable competition have to pass through two stages, an initial selection test and an assessment centre, before progressing into a merit pool of suitably qualified candidates from which they are then appointed at an equal ratio of those determined to be from a Catholic background and those from a non-Catholic background.
	Candidates are informed of the result of the assessment centre and whether or not they have been successful in entering the merit pool as the process rolls forward.
	With regards to Campaign 8, I am advised PSNI will make contact with all on the merit list in July 2005. Of the 5,695 candidates applying for Campaign 8, 1,342 and 644 were male and female respectively from a Catholic background, and, 2,372 and 1,337 were male and female respectively from a non-Catholic background.

Pollution

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the public health implications of the untreated waste and sewage washed up at Orlock, County Down.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question.
	Letter from Mrs. Katharine Bryan to Lady Hermon, dated 6 April 2005
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about the public health implications of the untreated waste and sewage washed up at Orlock, County Down (224257). I have been asked to reply as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Water Service regrets the problems that have arisen due to the failure of the screening plant at Briggs Rock, Orlock. The Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety, which is responsible for policy on public health matters, has advised that, while it is understood that the North Down borough council has assessed the situation at Orlock from a public health perspective, the Public Health Department of the Eastern Health and Social Services Board has been asked to liaise with North Down borough council to determine if there is any risk to public health from this situation, and if so, to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to deal with it.
	DHSSPS will advise you of the outcome of these investigations.

Pollution

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the Environment and Heritage Service to complete its investigation into the unregulated waste management activity found at Geddis farm on the outskirts of Helen's Bay in County Down; and when he expects the Environment and Heritage Service to publish the findings of its investigation.

Angela Smith: The Environment and Heritage Service anticipates that investigations will be completed by June 2005, when the finding will be made available, unless legal action is instigated by the Department.

Queen's Flight

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on how many occasions the Department's Ministers used the Queen's Flight in each of the past five years.

Paul Murphy: Travel by Ministers makes clear that special flights may be authorised when a scheduled service is not available, or when it is essential to travel by air, but the requirements of official or parliamentary business or security considerations or urgency preclude the journey being made by a scheduled service. In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The list published in 1999 covers the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 1999. Where RAF/Private Charter aircraft are used this is shown in the list. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2004–05 will be published in due course.

School Meals

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has for additional funding to improve school meals in Northern Ireland.

Barry Gardiner: I am committed to taking action that further improves the nutritional value of school meals here. I intend therefore to make additional funding available to improve school meals from September 2005. The arrangements for this will be finalised in light of evaluation of the outcomes of the Department's Nutritional Standards pilot scheme, involving 100 schools, which ended in March 2005.

School Meals

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans he has to allocate additional funds for school dinners in schools in the Province.

Barry Gardiner: I am committed to taking action that further improves the nutritional value of the school meals here. I intend therefore to make additional funding available to improve school meals from September 2005. The arrangements for this will be finalised in light of evaluation of the outcomes of the Department's nutritional standards pilot scheme, involving 100 schools, which ended in March 2005.

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will list the occasions between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004 when special advisers attended meetings with external representatives at which ministers were not present;
	(2)  if he will list the speeches his special advisers made in an official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004, broken down by date.

Paul Murphy: All meetings held by special advisers and all speeches given by special advisers are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

Staff Training

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs of departmental (a) staff training days and (b) staff development days held away from the Department were in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The information requested by the hon. Member is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Stationery

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on official ministerial (a) business cards, (b) headed paper and (c) compliment slips in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The information is not held in the format requested by the hon. Member.
	The Northern Ireland Office's (excluding its Agencies and NDPBs) expenditure on official ministerial (a) business cards, (b) headed paper and (c) compliment slips is recorded under general printing expenditure codes which cover a vast range of items. To provide this information would be at disproportionate cost.

Stationery

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department spent on (a) stationery and (b) office supplies in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: The information is not held in the format requested by the hon. Member.
	The figures provided in the table incorporate both the amounts spent on (a) stationery and (b) office supplies by the Northern Ireland Office (excluding its Agencies and NDPBs) in each year since 1997:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 354,367 
			 1998–99 424,354 
			 1999–2000 356,736 
			 2000–01 336,629 
			 2001–02 224,796 
			 2002–03 323,852 
			 2003–04 309,062

TK-ECC

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much of the grant assistance which was offered to TK-ECC in 1999 has been clawed back since its closure; and if he will contribute funds clawed back to the company's pension fund.

Barry Gardiner: Under the terms of a Financial Assistance Agreement dated 4 June 1999, between TK-ECC Ltd. and the then Industrial Development Board (IDE), a total of £2,000,000 was made available to the company and £800,000 of this was drawn down. Following the closure of the company, Invest NI determined that £275,000 was recoverable under the terms of the Financial Assistance Agreement. This amount was repaid in full by the company on 4 October 2004. There is no provision that would allow funds recovered to be made available to the TK-ECC Ltd. Pension Fund.

HEALTH

A and E Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of (a) NHS Direct, (b) the new general medical services contract and (c) the four-hour accident and emergency waiting time target on attendances at accident and emergency departments.

Rosie Winterton: Our assessment is that the key factors contributing to the rise in reported attendances at accident and emergency departments since 2002–03 have been better reporting, increased availability and use of walk-in centres and minor injury units, which are classified as type two and three A and E departments, and increased public satisfaction with A and E services linked to improved performance against the four-hour target.
	We have found no evidence that NHS Direct or the new general medical service (QMS) contract have contributed to the rise in attendances. The start of the current trend of increased attendances pre-dated the implementation of the GMS contact by around a year.

A and E Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the four hour accident and emergency waiting time target on patient outcomes.

Rosie Winterton: We have not undertaken a formal assessment, but the significantly increased number of accident and emergency patients now seen within four hours (96.8 per cent. in the third quarter of 2004–05, compared with 78 per cent. in the same quarter of 2002–03) can reasonably be expected to have improved patient outcomes. We have also received no evidence of any instances where the operation of the target has detracted from the quality of patient care.

Accidents

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accidents occurred at his departmental premises in each of the last five years involving (a) members of his Department's staff and (b) members of the public.

Rosie Winterton: There were 83 accident book entries in 2000, 47 accident book entries in 2001, 83 accident book entries in 2002, 102 accident book entries in 2003 and 100 accident book entries in 2004. There are no accident figures held separately for members of the public.

Accidents

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he publishes data for the number of accidents at work involving employees of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Accident figures have been published in the Department's annual reports since 2003.

Accidents

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements for monitoring accidents at work involving members of staff of his Department are in place; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: All reported accidents and incidents are scrutinised initially by the Department's building services section, which also maintains reports, records and statistics.
	Any serious event is notified to the building services, health and safety audit manager, who will initiate appropriate remedial action. The building services, health and safety audit manager will conduct necessary investigation and, where it applies, will report them under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.

Acute Beds

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute beds there are for each 100,000 of population in each strategic health authority.

John Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Strategic health authority Acute beds per 100,000 population 
		
		
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 244 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 129 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 262 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 271 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 246 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 230 
			 Dorset and Somerset 223 
			 Essex 153 
			 Greater Manchester 282 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 200 
			 Kent and Medway 155 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 195 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 219 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 196 
			 North Central London 277 
			 North East London 227 
			 North West London 215 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 275 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 185 
			 South East London 209 
			 South West London 211 
			 South West Peninsula 261 
			 South Yorkshire 297 
			 Surrey and Sussex 192 
			 Thames Valley 185 
			 Trent 194 
			 West Midlands South 208 
			 West Yorkshire 229 
			 England 220 
		
	
	Sources:
	1. Beds data—KH03 2003–04.
	2. Population figures—Office for National Statistics mid-2003 estimates.

Alzheimer's Disease

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his directions to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on determining the cost effectiveness of treatments; and if he will make a statement on the application of those directions to the evaluation of treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

Rosie Winterton: All directions made under article 3 of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Establishment and Constitution Order 1999 and regulation 9 of the Order are available in the Library. None relate to evaluation of treatments of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Disease

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's submission to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence review of treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Rosie Winterton: The Government's response to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence consultation document, "Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Glanatamine and Memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease", was published on 22 March 2005 and is available in the Library and on Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk.

Cancelled Operations

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled at the Worcestershire NHS Trust hospital (a) for medical reasons and (b) because of a lack of beds in each year between 1997 and 2005.

Stephen Ladyman: The information is not available in the format requested. The table shows cancelled operations for non clinical reasons at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust for the years 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 1 .
	
		
			  Org. ID Name Number of last minute cancellations for non clinical reasons 
		
		
			 2004–05 RWP Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 560 
			 2003–04 RWP Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 1,073 
			 2002–03 RWP Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 856 
			 2001–02 RWP Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 459 
		
	
	1 For the three quarters only to December of the financial year.
	Notes:
	1. Data prior to 2001–02 were only collected at health authority level. There is no breakdown by trust.
	2. A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation. This includes patients who have not actually arrived in hospital and have been telephoned at home prior to their arrival.
	3. Non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; admin. error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable. These examples are based on information from the Modernisation Agency's theatres project and do not necessarily cover all non-clinical reason.
	Source:
	Department of Health dataset QMCO and QMNG (2001–02).

Chronic Disease Management

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to incorporate chronic kidney disease management in primary care services.

Rosie Winterton: Part two of the national service framework for renal services was published in February 2005. It sets out new quality requirements for the identification and early management of people with, or at risk of, chronic kidney disease. It also identifies considerable scope for integrating care pathways for people with chronic kidney disease coronary heart disease and or diabetes, to reduce the impact of these interacting long-term conditions.

Clostridium Difficile

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the results of the most recent quarterly collection of statistics on clostridium difficile.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The collection of data on clostridium difficile under the mandatory surveillance scheme started on 1 January 2004. The Health Protection Agency will be publishing annual data when a full year's data has been analysed later this year.
	Cumulative data from the Health Protection Agency's voluntary reporting scheme on clostridium difficile are published regularly. Data for 2003 was published in February 2005 in the Communicable Disease Report (CDR) Weekly at: http://www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2005/cdr0705.pdf.

Dentistry

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on helping dentists to set up NHS practices in each year since 1999.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) help dentists to set up national health service practices in a variety of ways. We do not hold records centrally of all their initiatives. In helping dentists, PCTs have been able to draw on the £59 million we made available in 2004–05, of which £35 million was for grants to improve facilities, £15 million for local access initiatives and £9 million for use by the NHS dentistry support team to target assistance to PCTs with some of the most pressing access problems. PCTs can also offer dentists a personal dental services contract to set up a new practice. Under the terms of these contracts, dentists have a guaranteed level of earnings provided that they meet the agreed service requirements.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2005, Official Report, column 1976W, on dentistry, whether Methods Consulting is under a contractual obligation to his Department to meet the target recruitment figure of 230 Polish dentists by October 2005; and what steps will be taken to meet any shortfall in the target figure.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Methods Consulting has been contracted by the Department to recruit up to 230 dentists from Poland by the end of October 2005 to work in the national health service. The Department and Methods Consulting expect this figure to be achieved and Methods Consulting is managing the process accordingly.

Dentistry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received NHS dental treatment in Coventry, South in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The information requested is not available in the format requested. However, Coventry, South is served by Coventry primary care trust (PCT). The number of people in the PCT area, that were registered with a national health service dentist for the years 1997 to 2004 are as shown in table 1.
	
		Table 1
		
			  Child Adult Total 
		
		
			 1997 46,543 133,355 179,898 
			 1998 42,479 108,322 150,801 
			 1999 43,940 112,104 156,044 
			 2000 43,351 108,255 151,606 
			 2001 42,472 106,646 149,118 
			 2002 41,425 106,877 148,302 
			 2003 41,876 107,265 149,141 
			 2004 39,490 99,026 138,516 
		
	
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board.
	The drop in registrations between 1997 and 2004 is mostly attributable to the reduction in the re-registration period for patients from two years to 15 months. The figures also exclude the five dentists in personal dental service (PDS) schemes with 2,948 patients listed with them. The figures also exclude patients treated in dental access centres (DACs) who are not registered. In 2004, there were some 375,000 episodes of treatment in the 48 DACs then in operation in England.
	Table 2 shows the breakdown of patients seen and treatments completed at the Warwickshire DAC, which opened in December 2001—up to and including data as of 31 January 2005.
	
		Table 2
		
			  Number of patients seen Number of courses completed 
		
		
			 2000–01 — — 
			 2001–02 1,140 1,288 
			 2002–03 2,107 2,812 
			 2003–04 1,883 2,572 
			 (year to date) 1,634 2,142 
		
	
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board.

Dentistry

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in Gosport are accepting new NHS adult patients.

Rosie Winterton: There are 80 dentists practising in the Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust (PCT) area as at 31 December 2004. Latest information from the national health service's website shows that there are currently no dentists accepting new NHS adult patients.
	The NHS dentistry support team has been working with Fareham and Gosport PCT to assist it in tackling problems of local dental access. The PCT agreed a dental action plan with the support team, in August 2004, which it is now implementing. The plan will create in excess of 20,000 new NHS patient places together with 25,000 access session appointments. The PCT has received additional recurrent funds from the support team of £310,000 to support the delivery of the plan.

Dentistry

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Romsey constituency have been registered with an NHS dentist in each of the past 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: Table 1shows the number of people in the Romsey constituency registered with a national health service dentist in the last 10 years.
	
		Table 1: NHS dentist registrations in Romsey, 1995 to 2004
		
			  Number registered 
		
		
			 1995 42,792 
			 1996 37,587 
			 1997 34,278 
			 1998 30,965 
			 1999 30,212 
			 2000 28,790 
			 2001 30,059 
			 2002 28,663 
			 2003 31,010 
			 2004 28,727 
		
	
	Information has been provided by the dental practice board (DPB). The DPB defines areas based on dental practice postcodes within the current constituency boundaries. There are a small proportion of registrations nationally which could not be allocated to a constituency. The drop in registrations between 1997 and 2004 is mostly attributable to the reduction in the re-registration period for patients from two years to 15 months.
	Unregistered patients in Romsey can obtain treatment from the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire dental access centre, which opened in 2001. Table 2shows the breakdown of patients seen and treatments completed at the Portsmouth and South East Hampshire dental access centre in each year since it opened.
	
		Table 2: Number of patients seen and courses completed at Portsmouth and South East Hampshire dental access centre
		
			  Number of patients seen Number of courses completed 
		
		
			 2001–02 1,120 1,287 
			 2002–03 2,156 2,437 
			 2003–04 2,456 3,041 
			 1 April 2004 to 31 January 2005 1,849 2,233

Deregulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many regulations have been repealed by his Department since 1 October 2004.

Rosie Winterton: 37 statutory instruments, including both regulations and orders, have been revoked from 1 October 2004 to date. In addition, there were 10 statutory instruments in which provisions were revoked but the whole of the instrument was not.

Dermatology

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) indirect and direct funding and (b) other support he provided to dermatology research in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service.
	Both the MRC and the Department are currently supporting skin research. Past expenditure on such research is shown in the table.
	
		Expenditure on skin research 1999–2000 to 2003–04
		
			  MRC Department's national research programmes (£000) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 0.342 301 
			 2000–01 0.548 452 
			 2001–02 1.17 million 300 
			 2002–03 1.58 million 283 
			 2003–04 1.8 million 613 
		
	
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of completed and ongoing projects, including a significant number concerned with dermatology, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Digital Hearing Aids

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the Government's policy is on supplying digital hearing aids to those who have been diagnosed to be in need of them;
	(2)  what the Government's timetable is for providing digital hearing aids to those diagnosed to be in need of them.

Stephen Ladyman: pursuant to the reply, 9 March 2005, Official Report, c.1907W
	I regret that my previous reply was incorrect. The final paragraph should read as follows:
	"By 2008, no one will wait longer than 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to hospital treatment."

Domiciliary Care Workers

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a system of registration for paid domiciliary care workers.

Stephen Ladyman: The Secretary of State for Health is required by the Care Standards Act 2000 to consult the General Social Care Council (GSCC) before making any order to extend the register to social care workers, including domiciliary care workers. He did so in 2004, following which the GSCC undertook an open consultation in England last autumn and recommended the following order for the next groups for registration:
	Outreach and domiciliary care workers, residential child care workers and those working in residential family centres, and social care.
	Other residential care workers and those working in day services.
	Staff working in adoption and fostering agencies and adult placement services.
	Inspection and training staff in social care.
	Ministers have accepted in principle the recommendations of the GSCC. Detailed plans for the implementation of these recommendations are being prepared and an announcement will be made in the coming months.

Dr. Wilmshurst (Royal Shrewsbury Hospital)

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information the Chief Medical Officer has received from Dr. Wilmshurst, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital; what action he has taken as a result; and if he will place copies of the correspondence in the Library.

Stephen Ladyman: This information cannot be released without compromising the privacy of a number of third parties. Release would contravene the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

Drug Treatment (Appraisals)

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraisals of drug treatments to ensure that all important health effects have been taken into account in each case.

Rosie Winterton: The process by which the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) appraises drugs and their treatment is a matter for NICE itself. NICE consults periodically in its appraisal process. The latest consultation was in 2004, details can be found on the NICE'S website www.nice.org.uk.
	NICE is an independent organisation, which has gained an international reputation for its work on clinical and cost effectiveness of treatment and healthcare. NICE'S methodologies have also been commended by the World Health Organisation.

Elderly People (Falls)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the number of persons aged (a) over 65, (b) over 75 and (c) over 85 years of age resident in (i) residential care homes, (ii) nursing homes and (iii) their own homes and receiving domiciliary care; and what the (A) suicide rate, (B) number of reports to the police of missing persons, (C) number of admissions to hospital following falls and (D) number of deaths as a result of accident was in each group in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: The estimated numbers of people aged 65 and over, 75 and over and 85 and over reported to be living in residential and nursing care homes in England from the 2001 census are shown in Table 1. The table also shows the estimated number of people receiving domiciliary care provided or commissioned by councils with social service responsibilities in England at 31 March 2004.
	The Office for National Statistics does not hold information on suicide rates in residential care homes, nursing homes and homes that receive domiciliary care.
	Table 2 shows the number of finished admissions to national health service hospitals following a fall by age group in England in 2003–04. The breakdown specified is not available.
	Table 3 shows the number of registered deaths from accidental injury, by place of occurrence in England in 2003. The breakdown specified is not available.
	Information on missing persons is a matter for the Home Office.
	
		Table 1: Estimated number of people by age group in residential and nursing care homes and those receiving domiciliary care in England
		
			  As at 31 March 65 and over 75 and over 85 and over 
		
		
			 Residential care 2001(32) 162,800 147,700 95,800 
			 Nursing care 2001(32) 116,700 102,200 60,400 
			 Domiciliary care 2004(33) 318,000 263,000 n/a 
		
	
	n/a—Data not available.
	Source:
	(32) Office for National Statistics (2001 Census Table S126).
	(33) Department of Health RAP return P2s.1 2003–04.
	
		Table 2: Count of finished admissions to NHS hospitals following falls in England, 2003–04
		
			 Age Admissions 
		
		
			 65 and over 116,500 
			 75 and over 92,800 
			 85 and over 44,600 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Ungrossed data—figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
	2. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
	
		Table 3: Number of registered deaths(34) from accidental injury in England, 2003
		
			 Place of occurrence(35) All ages 65 and over 75 and over 85 and over 
		
		
			 All accidents 10,500 5,800 5,000 2,900 
			 Transport accidents 3,000 600 400 100 
			  
			 Non-transport accidents 7,500 5,200 4,600 2,800 
			 of which 
			 occurring at home 2,900 1,500 1,200 600 
			 occurring in residential institution(36) 500 400 400 300 
			 with place of occurrence unspecified 3,100 2,900 2,700 1,800 
		
	
	Notes:
	(34) Figures are for death registrations, not occurrences.
	(35) Place of occurrence breakdown refers to where the accident occurred, not the place of usual residence of the casualty.
	(36) Residential institution covers: children's home, dormitory, home for the sick, hospice, military camp, nursing home, old people's home, orphanage, pensioner's home, prison, reform school.
	Data is based on ICD10 codes V01-X59, V01-V99, W00-X59, W00-X59 (4th digit 0, 1 and 9).
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics.

Health Statistics (Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA infections there were in the Royal Shrewsbury hospital in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The information is not available in the format requested. The Royal Shrewsbury hospital was a separate acute trust until October 2003, when it merged with the Princess Royal hospital to form the Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals national health service trust. From October 2003 onward, data for the Royal Shrewsbury hospital alone is not available.
	The mandatory surveillance system which collects data on methicillin resistant "Staphylococcus aureus" (MRSA) bloodstream infections commenced in April 2001 and gives data by NHS trust only and not hospital.
	The table shows relevant data for the years 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 and the first six months of the reporting year 2004–05.
	
		
			  Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed days 
		
		
			 Royal Shrewsbury hospital 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 18 0.11 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 20 0.12 
			
			 Shrewsbury and Telford hospital NHS trust 
			 April 2003 to March 2004 58 0.20 
			 April 2004 to September 2004 24 0.16

Healthcare Commission

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received from private and voluntary healthcare providers on fees for inspection by the Healthcare Commission; and if he will place copies in the Library.

Stephen Ladyman: On 8 February, increases in the regulatory fees payable to the Healthcare Commission were announced. The increases came into effect on 1 April and are in line with Government policy of moving to a position where the recurrent costs of providing regulation are fully recoverable from service providers.
	Since the revised fees were announced, the Department has received a number of representations from private and voluntary healthcare providers. My noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, met representatives of the independent healthcare forum on 16 March. Ministerial correspondence is not routinely placed in the Library.

Healthcare/Social Care Commissions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish his plans for merging the Healthcare and Social Care Commissions.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The decision to merge the Commission for Social Care Inspection with the Healthcare Commission was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer during his budget statement on 16 March 2005.
	Further details of the planned merger will be confirmed following consultation with both Commissions, taking account of a proposed wider review of regulation in social care and health.

Klinefelter Syndrome

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that those with Klinefelter syndrome should be exempt from prescription charges.

Rosie Winterton: We have no plans to extend the existing list of medical conditions that give exemption from prescription charges. The list has been reviewed on a number of occasions but no clear cut case for extending it has emerged. There is no consensus on what additional conditions might be included in any revised list of medical exemptions, or how distinctions could be drawn between one condition and another.

McKinsy and Co

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid by Monitor to McKinsey and Co. since it was established.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	This is a matter for Monitor, the statutory name of which is the independent regulator of national health service foundation trusts. The Chairman will write to the hon. Member and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Medical Staff (Assaults)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults have there been on (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) midwives and (d) ambulance crews in each year since 1997; and what proportion of those assaults led to a prosecution in each year.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The information requested has not been collected centrally hitherto but a new national reporting system for physical assaults against national health service staff is being put in place and this will be fully operational by summer 2005.

Mental Health

Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to improve mental health services provided to the black and ethnic minority community.

Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to equality of access to mental health services, equality of experience of those services, and equality of outcome from services. On 11 January 2005, we published "Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care", combined with our response to the independent inquiry into the death of David Bennett. Together, they represent a comprehensive five-year action plan for tackling inequalities and discrimination in services for black and minority ethnic communities.
	The action plan is based on three building blocks:
	better, more responsive services—for example through training in cultural awareness for all mental health staff;
	better engagement of local services with black and minority ethnic communities, supported by the recruitment of 500 new community development workers; and
	better information about service use and experience, including a new annual national census of mental health patients. The first census took place on 31 March 2005.
	Implementation of the action plan is being led by Professor Kamlesh Patel QBE, head of the centre for ethnicity and health at the university of central Lancashire and chair of the Mental Health Act Commission. To support implementation, sites within 17 strategic health authorities across England have been selected to help identify and spread best practice.
	"Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care" is available on the Department's website.
	The objectives of "Delivering Race Equality" are supported by the Department's wider equality and human rights programme and by a 27-point cross-Government action plan on mental health published by the social exclusion unit (SEU) in June 2004. The SEU plan recognises that people with mental health problems are among the most excluded in society; its implementation is being led by the National Institute for Mental Health in England, in collaboration over 20 Government Departments and other organisations at national level.

MRSA

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the results were of the mandatory MRSA bloodstream infection count for the quarter October to December 2004.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 4 April 2005
	From March 2005, data on methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections have been published by six monthly intervals. The information for October 2004 to March 2005 will be published once the data has been compiled by the Health Protection Agency.

National Electronic Library for Health

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for the decision to terminate access to treatment notes on the national electronic library for health in May 2005; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The Consumers Association was funded for one year to supply an electronic version of treatment notes to the national health service, to complement the paper copies sold to NHS organisations. The contract for this service expired on 31 March 2005.

NHS Direct

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2005, Official Report, column 436W, on NHS Direct, what the intended new status of NHS Direct is; and what assessment he has made of its likely impact on the (a) financing, (b) status of the staff and (c) accountability of NHS Direct.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	As part of the arms length body review, the Department is assessing the future status of NHS Direct, with a view to it becoming a new organisation from April 2006. Financing, the status of staffing and accountability will feature in the evaluation of the new organisation.

NHS Finances

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of NHS income from charges was in each year since 1990–91, broken down by income from (a) fees and charges from health authorities, (b) fees and charges from district health authorities, (c) road traffic accident income, (d) fees and charges from NHS trusts, (e) NHS Supplies Authority fees, (f) dental charges, (g) prescription charges, (h) nursing home inspection fees, (i) subsidised dried milk, (j) Medicines Control Agency: licences and inspections, (k) youth treatment service income, (l) NHS Pensions Agency fees, (m) Medical Devices Agency fees, (n) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: licences fees, (o) English National Board for Nursing registration fees and (p) other charges.

John Hutton: National health service income figures from fees and charges are shown in the table. The table includes fees and charges to bodies outside the NHS, charges to private and overseas patients and charges to NHS patients.
	The only charges to NHS patients are those for dental and prescription charges. The proportion of charges to NHS patients compared with the total fees and charges income has fallen from 54.4 per cent. in 1997–98 to 45.9 per cent. in 2003–04.
	
		Breakdown of NHS income from charges by charge type 1990–91 to 2003–04
		
			 £ million 
			 Charges 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 
		
		
			 (a) Health authority —fees and charges(37) , (38) — — — — — — 6.3 
			 (b) District health authorities(39)(5507640040) — — — — — 2.3 — 
			 (c) Road traffic accident income(41) — — — — — — — 
			 (d) NHS trusts—fees and charges(42) — 5.0 29.8 55.5 110.3 123.4 152.4 
			 (e) NHS supplies authority fees(43) — — — — — 50.1 44.1 
			 (f) Dental charges(44) — — — 367.0 383.3 381.2 383.0 
			 (g) Prescription charges(44) — — — 265.3 287.2 298.7 295.7 
			 (h) Nursing home inspection fees(45) , (46) — — — — — 4.6 5.0 
			 (i) Subsidised dried milk — — — 1.0 1.3 1.6 2.2 
			 (j) Medicines Control Agency—licences and inspections — — — 24.1 25.6 22.4 26.8 
			 (k) Youth treatment service income — — — 4.1 3.5 3.7 3.5 
			 (1) NHS Pensions Agency fees(37) — — — — — — — 
			 (m) Medical Devices Agency Fees(37) — — — — 1.2 1.5 2.5 
			 (n) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: licence fees — — — 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.5 
			 (o) English National Board for Nursing (ENB): registration fees(48) , (49) — — — — — — — 
			 (p) Other(51) 116.2 140.8 157.3 182.0 197.1 211.7 238.2 
			 Total 116.2 145.8 187.1 899.8 1,010.4 1,102.2 1,161.2 
		
	
	
		Breakdown of NHS income from charges by charge type 1990–91 to 2003–04
		
			 £ million 
			 Charges 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 (a) Health authority —fees and charges(37) , (38) 67.7 90.1 92.0 113.8 65.8 44.8 29.4 
			 (b) District health authorities(39)(5507640040) — — — — — — — 
			 (c) Road traffic accident income(41) — — 30.0 75.8 98.3 105.0 117.6 
			 (d) NHS trusts—fees and charges(42) 169.6 216.7 224.2 266.0 268.2 386.1 531.7 
			 (e) NHS supplies authority fees(43) 39.1 36.1 20.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.8 
			 (f) Dental charges(44) 388.4 419.6 431.2 453.1 472.1 486.7 483.6 
			 (g) Prescription charges(44) 320.9 341.3 366.7 386.9 413.1 425.4 428.3 
			 (h) Nursing home inspection fees(45) , (46) 4.8 8.8 9.5 9.8 6.2 — — 
			 (i) Subsidised dried milk 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.3 3.0 2.9 — 
			 (j) Medicines Control Agency—licences and inspections 28.1 26.6 29.4 34.1 36.7 41.3 — 
			 (k) Youth treatment service income 4.5 4.7 4.6 0.1 — — — 
			 (1) NHS Pensions Agency fees(37) 2.3 6.2 2.2 1.8 1.6 0.9 0.1 
			 (m) Medical Devices Agency Fees(37) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 — 
			 (n) Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: licence fees 1.3 1.4 1.6 1.2 1.6 2.5 3.5 
			 (o) English National Board for Nursing (ENB): registration fees(48) , (49) — 1.6 1.6 1.6 — — — 
			 (p) Other(51) 275.0 296.6 315.3 320.3 347.2 372.8 391.1 
			 Total 1,304.4 1,452.5 1,531.3 1,667.5 1,714.4 1,869.0 1,986.0 
		
	
	(37) Figures from 2000–01 include charges for primary care trusts (PCTs).
	(38) Health authorities were established on 1 April 1996 and strategic health authorities on 1 October 2002.
	(39) Figures were not collected prior to 1995–96.
	(40) District health authorities ceased to exist after 1 April 1996.
	(41) Figures were not collected prior to 1999–2000.
	(42) Figures from 2001–02 includes charges from PCTs.
	(43) From 2000–01 NHS Supplies Authority split into NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency and NHS Logistics. All fees for forward years score against the NHS Logistics.
	(44) Dental and prescription charge income prior to 2001–02 drawn from cash data in appropriation accounts. 2001–02 and subsequent years' data drawn from resource data in Summarised Accounts.
	(45) Figures not collected on a consistent basis prior to 1996–97.
	(46) No income generated prior to 1997–98.
	(47)(48) The Agency was established in September 1994.
	(49) Figures prior to 1998–99 are not available.
	(50) In 2001–02 the Department has directed that no ETR fees should be charged and that ETR fees held in reserve should be utilised to fund the ENB's on-going students record function for the final year of its operation.
	(51) From April 2002, the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) regulated nursing homes; health authorities no longer collect the fee income.
	(52) "Other" contains mainly charges for private patients and overseas visitors but also special health authority fees and charges.
	Notes:
	1. Information on fees and charges in (a) to (o) has been provided from the audited accounts of NHS bodies and specified NDPBs.
	2. Information in (p) has been provided for NHS trusts, PCTs and special health authorities.
	3. Information has not been provided for other non-departmental public bodies as accounts for the period are not readily available.
	4. The presentation of fees and charges in accounts is not necessarily consistent between years and therefore direct comparisons may not be relevant.
	5. The NHS and a number of listed bodies have been subject to reorganisations over the period under question, therefore figures may only be available for limited years.

NICE Representations

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence about the provision of (a) Reminyl, (b) Aricept, (c) Exelon and (d) Ebixa treatments by the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: Ministers have not received any representations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) about these drugs. The Department has, along with other stakeholders, commented on NICE'S recent draft technology appraisal of these drugs. The Department's response was published on 22 March and is available on the Department website (www.dh.gov.uk) and in the Library.

Nurses (Hampshire)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses were employed in Hampshire in each of the past 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff within Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority area for respective years
		
			 Headcount 
			  Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority total Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff General practitioner practice nurses 
		
		
			 1995 9,734 8,977 757 
			 1996 9,663 8,929 734 
			 1997 9,653 8,914 739 
			 1998(53) 10,052 9,350 702 
			 1999(53) 10,417 9,719 698 
			 2000 10,727 9,903 824 
			 2001 11,393 10,571 822 
			 2002 11,658 10,791 867 
			 2003 13,431 12,564 867 
			 2004 12,603 11,738 865 
		
	
	(53) Headcount practice nurse figures are estimated for these years.
	Note:
	Practice nurse data as at 1 October 1994 to 1999 and 30 September 2000 to 2004
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Operations

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were contracted for in each of his Department's contracts with independent sector firms to provide NHS operations; how many operations have been completed under each contract; and how many operations have been paid for but were not completed within the contracted time scale.

John Hutton: holding answer 22 March 2005
	All wave 1 contracts with independent sector (IS) providers are for fixed terms (usually five years) and set numbers of procedures. IS providers are required to treat patients referred to them in order to be paid and it is the responsibility of the national health service to ensure that appropriate numbers of patients are referred to ensure that resources are not wasted and that patients receive treatment as quickly as possible. The number of patients treated under the schemes that are currently operational is shown in the tables
	
		Five year contracts at full service
		
			  Number/commencement date 
		
		
			 Daventry(54)  
			 Total number of procedures 6,075 
			 Total completed to date 3,783 
			 Service commenced 1 October 2004 
			   
			 Mobile cataract units  
			 Total number of procedures 44,737 
			 Total completed to date 11,687 
			 Service commenced 26 January 2004 
			   
			 Kidderminster  
			 Total number of procedures 33,817 
			 Total completed to date 109 
			 Service commenced 1 February 2004 
		
	
	(54) 36 month contract spread over four financial years.
	
		Contracts at interim service
		
			  Number/commencement date 
		
		
			 Brighton and Mid-Sussex (GC8)  
			 Total number of procedures 81,178 
			 Total completed to date 77 
			 Service commenced 1 February 2005 
			   
			 Southampton (GC4)  
			 Total number of procedures 95,137 
			 Total completed to date 250 
			 Service commenced 1 September 2004 
			   
			 Trent and South Yorkshire  
			 Total number of procedures 22,000 
			 Total completed to date 2,196 
			 Service commenced 13 April 2004 
			   
			 Bradford  
			 Total number of procedures (55)27,415 
			  (56)73,750 
			 Total completed to date 600 
			 Service commenced 23 February 2004 
			   
			 General supplementary procurement 1—one year 
			 Total number of procedures 25,000 
			 Total completed to date (57)16,000 
			 Service commenced June 2004 
		
	
	(55) Procedures
	(56) Diagnostics
	(57) Approximately

Premature Babies

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the survival rate of premature babies born at (a) 20, (b) 21, (c) 22, (d) 23 and (e) 24 weeks gestation was in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of surviving babies experienced long-term severe disability.

Stephen Ladyman: This data is not collected centrally.
	A recent study of survival and disability in children born at 25 or fewer completed weeks of gestation confirms the association with mortality, and with morbidity and disability for survivors, which may persist into later life. It also notes that the greater introduction of antenatal treatment with corticosteroids and surfactants are important determinants of the increased survival of extremely preterm infants and observes that this may have some bearing on long-term outcomes. The study, entitled EPICure, is available on the following website: http://www.nottinaham.ac.uk/human-development/EPICure/.

Private Operations

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on whether patients who are being treated privately for a hospital operation may receive public funding to meet part of the cost.

John Hutton: There is no statutory power under existing legislation, which would enable patients to receive public funding, in whole or in part, for private treatment in such circumstances.
	Current legislation makes provision for a national health service which is delivered free of charge, except where there is a statutory basis for making a charge. Any other charge for a NHS service would be unlawful. We have no plans to introduce legislation to change this, and remain committed to a free NHS.
	There is no statutory provision for charging United Kingdom residents for their hospital operations funded by the NHS, whether they are carried out by an NHS organisation or through the independent sector. Nor is there any statutory provision for such services to be part funded in this way by the NHS. If they are funded by the NHS they must be free of charge to the patient and funded in full.

Renal Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding he has made available for research into kidney disease in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service through its national research programmes. Expenditure on research into kidney disease supported by these programmes is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Amount (£000) 
		
		
			 1997–98 0 
			 1998–99 44 
			 1999–2000 94 
			 2000–01 102 
			 2001–02 138 
			 2002–03 224 
			 2003–04 284 
		
	
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. The NHS has reported spending from this funding in support of renal disease as follows:
	
		
			  Amount1 (£ million) 
		
		
			 2002–03 11.1 
			 2003–04 10.6 
		
	
	(58) The figures represent the aggregate sum as reported by some 280 Individual research-active NHS organisations in the appropriate year.
	This expenditure data was not collected centrally prior to 2002.

Sane

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the impact on services provided by SANE of changes in central Government funding over the next three years.

Rosie Winterton: Currently, the Department has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of SANELINE service. The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the two-year contract for the SANELINE service. The contract comes to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.
	The chair of the Mental Health Helplines Partnership (MHHP), of which SANE was until recently a member, has written to SANE offering the partnership's support. The Department has indicated to the chair of the MHHP that it would offer advice and support to the partnership in this matter.
	SANE is eligible to apply for Government funding streams aimed at the voluntary and community sector.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the service provided by SANELINE.

Rosie Winterton: Currently, the Department has made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the SANELINE service. However, on previous occasions when SANE has said it would need to close the SANELINE service, the Department conducted discussions with other helpline mental health providers to support SANELINE callers, who would have been affected.
	The Chair of the Mental Health Helplines Partnership (MHHP), of which SANE was until recently a member, has written to SANE offering the Partnership's support. The Department has indicated to the Chair of the MHHP that it would offer advice and support to the Partnership in this matter.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department decided to withhold payments on its contract with SANE to provide the SANELINE service in 2004–05; and for what reason the decision was taken.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not consider that it withheld payments from SANE in respect of the contract for the SANELINE service. The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the two year contract for the SANELINE service. The contract came to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether his Department has fulfilled the undertakings and requirements of the compact on relations between government and the voluntary and community sector in its relations with SANE.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the two year contract for the SANELINE service. The contract came to an end on 31 March, 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.
	The Department is fully committed to consolidating and developing partnership working with the voluntary and community sector and to supporting the COMPACT agreement.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department agreed a resolution on the partnership between the Department and SANE.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the two-year contract for the SANELINE service. The contract comes to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what disagreements regarding grant funding remain outstanding between his Department and SANE.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the contract for the SANELINE service. The contract came to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when his Department will pay the interest owed to SANE on its contract to provide the SANELINE service.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has paid SANE £2 million in respect of the contract for the SANELINE service. The contract comes to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.

Sane

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons he is proposing not to renew funding for SANELINE.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the two-year contract for SANELINE service. The contract comes to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE. SANE is eligible to apply for Government funding streams aimed at the voluntary and community sector.

Sir Derek Wanless

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department last met Sir Derek Wanless.

Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, last met Sir Derek Wanless on 12 November 2003. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Miss Melanie Johnson) met him on 12 December 2004. Officials have met Sir Derek on numerous occasions in the course of his work on public health and in relation to the "Choosing Health" White Paper.

Speech/Occupational Therapists

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) speech therapists and (b) occupational therapists have been employed by the NHS in Hampshire in each of the past 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		National health service hospital and community health services:Qualified occupational therapy staff and qualified speech and language therapy staff within Hampshire and Isle of Wight strategic health authority area
		
			 Headcount 
			 As at 30 September each year Qualified occupational therapy staff Qualified speech and language therapy staff 
		
		
			 1995 346 128 
			 1996 355 127 
			 1997 340 129 
			 1998 312 128 
			 1999 354 138 
			 2000 361 143 
			 2001 413 145 
			 2002 436 185 
			 2003 478 190 
			 2004 490 196 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census